Checkmate: Royal Acquisition
by Fireminx
Summary: Princess Tokio thought she'd see the world before giving her life up for King, God and Country. King Saitou, her father's adversary, sees her as the perfect political tool for revenge, and he'll even seduce her to get it. (Warning, this is a bit dark)
1. Captured Prey

This is the prequel to Dangerous Alliance. It explains the way Tokio ended up married to King Saitou...and how they ended up together in their somewhat...odd relationship of respect, trust and occassionally...when the mood suits them...love. This is not going to be gushy in anyway though. Saitou was protrayed as a very practical, controlled and somewhat Machiavellian sort of man in the series, thus I will not be making him very nice. He will be as he will be...but no worries. I won't have him randomly torturing people for fun or anything crazy.

And for fun, there will be royal facts at the end of some chapters. In the meantime, let me stress this is an Alternate Universe...Kyoto, Edo, Fujita etc are countries rather than cities. There is magic, mages etc, along with sword mastery etc. If you don't like...don't read.

**Chapter 1: Captured Prey**

_I shouldn't have left Kyoto._

Tokio said it over and over in her head but it did not change the harsh reality she was in. Loose shackles kept her attached to the dark stone walls. Straw was under her but failed to do much for warmth or cushioning against the hard slab floors. Rodents of various sizes scurried from shadow to shadow and there was something cold and wet dripping down her collar. Fujita's dungeon was no four star inn, that was for sure.

_Father was right. I was wrong. There. I said it. I'm a spoiled, selfish, arrogant, pig-headed, conceited brat who should be laid over someone's knee and given a good spanking. _

_I just want to go home._

She would not cry. Not now, not ever. She was alive, unharmed and only a little cold. Crying would not solve her current problem. Then again, wishing for her father would not solve it either. Goodness knows King Hiko would not be happy to hear she was captured, but neither would he come blazing to the rescue. He was big on you-did-it, you-fix-it methods of handling situations, especially where his daughter was concerned. His useless daughter.

"Oi, girl, on yer feet," a guard said, keys jangling in the door. An ear piercing creak opened the lock and he pulled the heavy dungeon door open.

_Now what?_

"Please, my lady, sit down," a kind voice said as she was led into the room. A very short man with a kind smile was sitting on one of the plush couches of the parlor room. She did not bother to admire the room. All palaces looked the same, really. Décor changed a little from palace to palace, but they all had that extremely expensive showy interior.

"May I inquire as to who I am addressing?" she asked, neatly sitting. She looked down at her hands and grimaced. Dirty nails. Ugh. Old habits died hard.

"I am Okita Souji, Chief Advisor to his majesty."

"Ah…and I assume you know who I am," she said carefully.

"Princess Tokio, only daughter to King Hiko the first….although currently I believe you are going by Master Bard Takagi." Well there was no lying to this man, that was for sure. Tokio gave up all pretenses.

"My lord, I beg of you. I know not what problems lie between Kyoto and Fujita, but I am not here to spy. I simply wanted to get away. Please tell his majesty I am extremely sorry for the inconvenience. If ransoming me back is the only way I understand….but…" Okita held up his hand.

"I think you are going too fast for me to understand, my lady. Why don't you start at the beginning?"

"The beginning?" she asked, thinking hard. "Which beginning?"

"Why are you traveling as a common musician instead of being properly pampered and surrounded at court?"

"Oh…you want me to start there," she said with a sigh.

Tokio began her tale, her voice dull and toneless.

_By the time I was ten I knew the Crown of Kyoto would never rest on my head. After countless generations of powerful rulers I was proclaimed the dud. No magic whatsoever flowed in my veins. Nothing. Needless to say my father was less than amused. My mother, the powerful sorceress of the Eastern Tower, was not exactly jumping for joy either. Not that their relationship lasted long, but I hardly gave them any grounds to continue it._

_I did, however, have one thing many other princesses do not easily get. Good looks. Ha! Whoever said beauty was a blessing obviously did not have much. By the time I was twelve men were already seeking my hand and not just for my position of power. At fifteen I kept myself secluded from most of the court and any male except my father and Kenshin. Kenshin, yes, my adopted brother. He was all of five when he came to the palace and was proclaimed the heir to the throne. Much too young for me…thankfully. Even at his tallest he'll still be shorter than me. Most men are._

_On my sixteenth birthday my father did something I never thought he'd do. He told me what he was planning. Father never tells anyone anything….especially not Kenshin or me. I was shocked and all too pleased. I should have known better. Father was never a caring man. Why should he start now?_

_I was to be a political tool. At some point he figured he'd need a powerful alliance with some lord, prince or king who was single and his perfect plan was to marry me to them. Did I get any say in this? Of course not. No surprise there. I'm a princess right? I sacrifice my life for crown and country. So what was I to do in the meantime? Wait._

_So wait I did. Well, only for about two months. That's how long it took for my temper to get the best of me. So I snuck out. I decided I wanted to see the world before I gave my life…well, what little life I was allowed, to King and country. Bards could easily travel without much questioning so I joined the first professional group I could find and was having the time of my life._

_I was so stupid. Furoto-san, our leader, said coming to Fujita was a bad idea, but I didn't want to miss seeing just who my father's supposed archenemy was. Foolish, now that I think about it, but at that time it was excitement and thrill. I had managed to evade my father. What was another King? King Saitou, it seems, is no fool. Since all of my friends were released I assume he knows not only who I am, but has probably already decided I am just the thing to adorn his next execution block._

Tokio finished, the weariness of a woman far beyond her years etched in her eyes.

Okita blinked in surprise. For a sixteen year old girl she had incredible maturity and reflection over her own actions. Not only was she a stunning beauty, but it seemed she had the brains to boot. Pity no magic ran in her veins. She would have made a formidable Queen. The stubbornness of her father was there, but a willingness to accept mistakes and learn from them was also there. Not a usual combination.

"You are not scheduled to adorn his majesty's execution block yet. If you are really holding out for it I could put in a good word," he joked. She looked up, the solemn expression disappearing from her face instantly as she gave a light and sweet laugh.

"Forgive me, I am so morbid. A week in the dungeon hardly leaves one with a sunny disposition. Well, now you know why I am here. If it is not too bold to ask, what can I expect to happen to me?"

"Well now, there are several options. We could send the appropriate ransom to Kyoto and eventually send you home to your father….if he gives us what we want of course." A look of utter horror crossed her face.

'_Face father after all of this? I'd rather die. Goodness knows who he's marry me to as punishment.' _She shuddered at the thought.

"And the other options?" she asked in a weak voice.

_So you don't want to go home little one? _Okita thought.

"We could keep you a political prisoner in the dungeons….for the rest of your life….although those dungeons were not built with long term occupancy in mind," he said with a smile. She seemed more relieved with that proposal….how odd. "Of course my suggestion is that we keep you as a political prisoner but hide you as the permanent court Bard. You would lead a life of luxury that you were accustomed to so long as you remain here. You would be killed if you tried to escape. His majesty is many things. Excessively merciful is not one of them."

"That can't be true," she responded. "Otherwise I'd already be dead."

"I'm afraid you've got me there, Lady," Okita said with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Let's just say you have your step-brother to thank for it."

"Kenshin? What did he do?"

"Just let me say that his majesty and your stepbrother are opposing forces. No hate could be more terrifying than theirs."

"Hate? I didn't think Kenshin could hate anyone. He's always so gentle."

"You might be surprised," Okita said in a low voice, his mirth gone from his voice. "Well, enough of that. I'll have the guards show you to your new rooms and maids. I am sure you would love a bath right about now."

"Am I that obvious?"

"Positively twitching," he said with a smile.

"I am not twitching."

"Your left eye twitches every time you look at your hands. Dirt under your nails?"

"You damn advisors are so intuitive," she swore. Okita's eyes grew as round as saucers.

"Language, language. Perhaps you would rather be in the dungeon?"

"I'd rather be in the middle of a forest, all alone…." she said solemnly. "But wishes were not meant to be true for me. You bid me go and I shall go, whether to a feathered bed or bloody block."

"I hope you never see a bloody block…" Okita said softly, smiling down at her. He raised a hand and the guards moved from the door to escort her. Tokio gave a very graceful curtsy and followed them out.

"Not bad, Okita. You make confession seem like drawing water from a bottomless spring," a deep voice said, moving from the shadows of the dark curtains on the far side of the room.

"You aren't going to make a liar out of me and send her to the blocks, are you?" the young man asked, hope in his eyes. Where Saitou's eyes were amber, cold and hard, Okita's were soft and warm. Two deadly men yet such different personalities.

"No. She is far more useful alive…even if just to keep you happy." Okita gave a deep, lung racking cough, his hand covering his mouth. No surprise, blood spattered his hand. Saitou's eyes narrowed.

"I just hope I live long enough for you to find another use for her once I am gone. Such a strong spirit."

"You are a hopeless romantic. Military genius, deadly swordsman yet romantic," Saitou scoffed.

"Who? Me?" came the innocent reply.


	2. Court Flower

**Chapter 2: Court Flower**

Tokio sat at Okita's feet during the court proceedings. Her flute lay in her lap, untouched. She didn't care. These proceedings were boring anyway. Besides, it was no mystery that King Saitou disliked music interrupting his day. Okita managed to keep her alive and she was not about to take any chances. The tall dark king made her shiver without even looking at her. No way would she attract his attention.

"My goodness, Lord Okita, who is this gorgeous little flower?" a woman asked, rushing up to Okita and kissing him on the cheek. Tokio looked around to see who she was talking about, then realized the woman was looking at her. Damn. She had hoped the Bard robes would keep people from noticing her. She even wore colors that ill suited her. Damn beauty. Tokio wished she had the tiniest bit of magic. Then she could cast an illusion of plainness. Anything to keep people from staring. It was downright annoying!

"My new Bard," Okita explained, carefully not going into details. My new Bard who is the princess of Kyoto and our prisoner would have created quite a stir.

"She's absolutely gorgeous! Have you told your mother? I'm sure she'd love to plan the wedding! Or is she the other type of woman?" the woman said with a wink.

_Other type of woman? _ Tokio thought, confused. She cocked her head a little sideways like a confused puppy, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"Mou! Nothing like that! She is just my Bard. No more, no less."

"Nonsense! I don't believe it for a second! This woman has the figure of a goddess, honey brown tresses with a light curl, lush plump red lips, a cute little nose and the most beautiful light brown eyes I've ever seen! She has the innocence of a freshly bloomed rose and sits quietly at your feet. You've a woman, that you do, Lord Okita! If you haven't told your dear mother I shall be happy to tell her myself."

Okita was extremely nervous. This was not going as he had hoped. Lady Yura was not making things easy for him. No one knew of his sickness…except the King. Hence why he had not married. He hardly wanted to ruin poor Lady Tokio's reputation.

"Roses have thorns whether they are blooming or not," came a voice below him. Gone was Tokio's calm exterior. She was not amused at this lady pointing out everything about her in a loud voice, thus turning the attention of the entire court upon her. "And rose bushes always attract the worst bugs imaginable. They nibble away at the leaves and petals until there is nothing but an ugly, hole ridden reminder of what used to be considered perfection."

The entire court was in a hush. Some jaws dropped, realizing the insult she had just delivered. Okita was smiling, but slowly counting. Lady Yura would either back away or catch on to the joke in the next minute.

"Why don't you put that mouth of yours to better use and play a tune?" a deep voice asked. All eyes turned to the King. He did not look at her, but she knew his attention had been wavered. Great. The man who hated music wanted her to play. How ironic was that?

"What shall I play?" she asked. The King made no reply so she looked up at her patron. Okita looked thoughtful.

"I really like the old, traditional songs. Do you know any?"

"Of course," Tokio said with a nod, although she was somewhat confused. The old, traditional songs were very slow, wavy and depressing. Hardly the type of music that fit Okita's personality. As she began to play she saw why.

Okita had not asked her to play it for him. He asked her to play it because that was what the King liked.

_Figures an old relic would like old music,_ she mused. Well at least now she could direct the court to her music and away from her. That let her relax. Just to close her eyes and let the music flow. If she had known it would be the last court appearance Okita would make she would have played better. But no one knows the future.

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"Hajime…could you do me a favor?" Okita asked weakly from his bed. They were alone, left to themselves after the court hearings. Okita had practically collapsed. Tokio was sent away like a puppy with her tail between her legs. She knew something was wrong, but no one would tell her.

The great king looked down at Okita with emotionless eyes, but the younger man knew better. Why else was his king here and not off doing something important.

"What?"

"I know the doctor said peace and quiet, but I want Tokio here. Her flute is very soothing."

"She should not have to see you die," came the harsh reply. "Have you finally become selfish in your last few hours?" Okita gave a weak smile.

"It is not me I am hoping she will sooth."

"Okita, this is not the time to play political chess. If you think I am going to take your little Bard as my own you have had too much medicine."

"Think about it Hajime. What would get back at Kyoto more than stealing its very daughter out from under it?"

"What would piss them off more is what I think."

"Ah, yes, they will be unhappy. But what would they do? Attack their own sister?"

"Okita, do you remember the story of the fall of Troy? One woman can be very very dangerous. Especially if the other country believes her to be theirs."

"Helen was married. Tokio is not."

"Just what are you suggesting?"

"You need to replace me…"

"With a sixteen year old girl with no military experience? I think you've finally lost it, my old friend."

"No…military advisors are easy to come by. But a trust worthy councilor and friend…that is not as easily found."

"She is a sixteen year old girl and the daughter of a country I am preparing to go to war against. That hardly puts her on the top of my most trusted list."

"She has unfailing loyalty, Hajime. Her own father threw her to the wolves. She's just waiting to be picked up. Grab her now and you'll have the most powerful ally imaginable…" Okita began coughing horribly, blood pouring from his lips.

"Now I know you are dreaming. She's been here a month, Okita, not a lifetime. I'll fetch your Bard. She's probably scratching at her door to be let out anyway."

The king left in a swirl of robes, silent as a hunter. Okita smiled at the doorway.

"Eventually you will figure it out, Hajime. You may be immune to many things but one wolf calls to another. Eventually you will see….if you don't kill her first. Or do something incredibly stupid."

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Tokio gently laid the flute down, her eyes misting as she looked at Okita. He was obviously in a great deal of pain as he struggled to breath. He was so gentle, so sweet and he had been her only friend in the short time she'd been here, giving her subtle hints on how to not annoy the king. Every night she played for him. She would have played until her lungs burst if she could, but the king often came in and one look from him would silence her until he left. Until she knew what his design for her was she would tread carefully.

"Another gig….please," Okita asked, coughing a bit. His skin was a waxy white, brown hair a matted mess upon his pillow. Bloody tissues collected in the bowl beside the bed.

"Of course," she said, her voice cracking a bit. This was the first time she'd been near a person close to death. And she was so fond of him. It was almost too painful for her to play but play she did, even though her fingers trembled.

"How can you stand that racket?" the king called out as he entered the room. He casually took off the crown he'd been wearing to court and tossed it onto a couch. Tokio immediately shrunk away, hiding herself in the shadows.

"Hajime, if you scare her one more time so help me god I will get out of this bed and kick your ass," Okita snapped, his normally soft eyes narrowing at his friend. Saitou's eye's widened a fraction.

"Why Okita, you haven't threatened me like that since before my coronation."

"You needed it. Now apologize to Tokio."

"WHAT?" the tall man asked. Okita began coughing badly, blood spattering onto his comforter.

"Apologize!" he snapped, pulling himself up.

"Stop being so damn dramatic," Saitou snapped back, reaching out and pushing the tired man back down. "Rise, bard," he ordered, his gaze settling upon Tokio. Even though she cowered in the corner her eyes met his without flinching. The same could not be said of most men.

"I apologize for insulting your playing. Obviously it is merely my dislike for the music type and not your playing."

"I accept your gracious apology," she said quietly with a courtly curtsy which was highly amusing since she was in pants.

"Happy?" Saitou asked, turning back to his friend.

Okita's eyes were wide open, unfocused at the ceiling. No breath came from between his blood spattered lips.

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Tokio lay by the bed he'd been in. They had long since taken Okita away to be buried. For the last month he had been her guardian, her patron and even her friend. Tokio was deeply grieved with his passing. It felt like someone tore a huge chunk of her chest out and threw it far away. Try as she might though, she couldn't cry. She could never cry. To cry was weak and Okita had taught her to be strong.

Of course the next question was….now what was she to do?

"My lady," a guard said, bending down. "His majesty orders you to return to your rooms immediately." Tokio said nothing. She stared off into space even as the man bent down, picked her up and removed her from the rooms she had come to know so well.

_Goodbye Okita…_

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Don't cry...please. This is a bit darker in some places, but I feel it adds to the complexity. Want to know how I got the idea for this? An article on Marie-Antoinette. Confused? Ok, I'll fill you in. First, for those of you rusty on your history, Marie-Antoinette was the Queen of France (married to the king obviously) before and during the French Revolution, right up until decapitation...I love that word (not that that it happened, I just like the word decapitation. Rolls off your tongue so nicely). Anyway, the article wasn't on her death, but more her life. You would be shocked what royals had to go through. I wouldn't have been in her shoes for anything! You'll see why cause I'll add it into the story. You'll be quite shocked...at least I was. I haven't done much research on royals so maybe you won't be shocked. So how did I connect Marie-Antoinette and Rurouni Kenshin? Good question.

Here's my theory, since I am not to sure myself. My brain tends to think of half a dozen things all at once, each running on its own parallel. Quite confusing sometimes when I have to concentrate on one task. I would never make a good meditator, let me tell you. Clear my mind? You know what's rattling around in there? Anyway, so I read this article and I guess I was thinking about Anime or something on a different parallel and boom, thoughts tangled. Thus, I conclude this story was the result of one hell of a mental knot. As a professor once told me: "Not all mistakes are bad."


	3. Inconvenient Guest

**Chapter 3: Inconvenient Guest**

"Your majesty, the Bard is in her rooms as you requested," the guard said at the doorway. Saitou looked up, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"She is to be given full guest privileges but under no circumstances is she to set foot outside the castle. Understood?"

The group of men around him, all various guards, councilmen and lords of the castle merely nodded. The word would be passed to the servants and everyone else in the palace.

"You majesty. The Kyoto forces are similar in strength and number to our own give or take a hundred. They are not drafting any men from the countryside, but are holding countrywide recruiting sites for men to join if they wish. There has not been overwhelming turnout, but a steady stream everyday."

"And the armory?" Saitou asked, turning to another lord.

"They have every royal blacksmith making everything from swords and knives to full body armor and arrow heads. Last we counted there were nearly a hundred blacksmiths now kept at the palace proper."

"Once again similar to our own. It's like fighting our own shadow. Damn them. What about magic?" he demanded. A smaller man in plain clothes stepped forward. He looked like a woodsman, but anyone who knew him knew better.

"King Hiko seems to be leaving everything to his heir," the man said quietly. "No magic has been detected nor does Prince Kenshin seem inclined to use it."

"That doesn't mean he won't. I want our mages used for defense purposes only. If it's a real war he wants, that's what he'll get. What about military strategies?"

All were silent. Some looked at him blankly. Others chose to look at their feet or something on a nearby wall.

"You've been studying this country for a year and you've learned nothing of their military strategy?"

"Your majesty, King Hiko has never gone to war with just armed forces. He usually relies heavily on magic. Prince Kenshin was trained by him and him alone, but has showed no inclination for magic at all. He keeps council with Prince Sagara and Lord Aoshi, but other than that has no war council. We don't know what to expect because we don't know where he is drawing his information from."

Saitou almost wanted to have the Lord who spoke out executed. However, he was not about to punish the truth and sitting here like a bunch of silent idiots would only waste his time.

"Since you all have managed to be ahead of schedule on your other tasks you can all work on this one. I want anything and everything you can find. His training techniques, how many hours a day, Lord Aoshi's trainer's name, Prince Sagara's trainer…if he has one, the idiot."

The men all bowed and shuffled out, documents rolled and tucked under their arms. Saitou sat down as the last one had left, closing the large doors behind them. Long, slender fingers rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Idiots. Complete idiots. Sure they knew their specific jobs, but when it came to having to do anything beyond that they tended to be very weak. How he needed Okita. He could handle these idiots in a way that made sure no one knew they were being manipulated. Saitou had never quite been subtle enough. Then again he didn't grin like an idiot. Somehow when you don't look serious no one thinks much of your words. Saitou always looked serious.

A gentle knock came upon the door.

"Come in," he said, turning his chair to face the door. The castle's head servant, Saori, poked her head in. Great. Why did he get the feeling this was going to be another headache?

"Beggin' your pardon, your majesty. I need details about our new guest."

"Details? She's been here a month already. What more do you need to know?"

"Lord Okita and I went over details everyday, your majesty."

_Every day? Oh God!_

"I don't have time for this, Saori. Why don't you just take the girl into your charge? If she complains about anything tell her I command her and if she doesn't like it she can go back to the dungeons."

"Yes your majesty," Saori said with a curtsy, stepping back to pull the door closed.

"One more thing, Saori," he said, deep in thought.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"She is a princess. See that she is dressed and treated appropriately. I expect her to know all the manners required of a princess. I also expect her to be present at all court hearings, banquets and special events. Understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," Saori curtsied again and left.

Now, Kyoto's damn military strategies. How the hell was he supposed to try and learn those? It was time for a trip to the library.

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Tokio followed the corridor like the guard had told her. The head servant Saori was a scary woman. Looks like the King gave control over her to the small stern woman. Tomorrow she was to be fitted for dresses. Dresses! It had been months since she'd worn a dress. And Saori knew Tokio was a princess too. Now everyone was bowing to her. She hated that. Why did the king have to go and ruin her secret? A bard was a lot less conspicuous. Maybe that was why he did it. Everyone would remember whether a princess had been by. Now way to escape if everyone recognized her.

The two double doors were closed but Tokio managed to open the right door without too much pulling. It slammed behind her, making her jump nearly three feet in the air.

"Why is everything here so damned scary? No gardens, no flowers, just scary doors and stone walls with drab drapes."

The library was huge. Not surprising. Any library in a castle was huge, unless the king was an idiot who thought books were useless. Shelves upon shelves stacked upon one another up to the cathedral like ceiling. Surprisingly though, there were no ladders or stairs.

"Just how do they get the books down?" she mused. "Hello? Is anyone here?" she called out.

Silence answered her. A library with no librarian. How odd was that? Kyoto Castle's librarian was a fat man with a temper and a wheezy voice who had the hearing of a bat. If a page turned three floors up he knew about it. He also knew every book in the library.

For a library that had no one in it, it was sparkling clean. No dust, no spiders, nothing. Just books. Rows and rows of books. Unfortunately there seemed to be no titles on them. That was even stranger.

Tokio went to the nearest shelf and reached for a book, drawing her fingers back at the last second. Nothing jumped out at her. Why did she have this creepy feeling? She pulled the book out and opened it.

Blank pages. Every single one. Tokio slid it back in and took the next one out. It was the same. She checked the entire shelf. Every single book was as blank as the first.

"What the hell?" she asked aloud.

"How did you get in here?" a low voice behind her said, scaring the shit out of Tokio. She spun around, eyes wide, and fell back against the shelf.

Saitou stared down at her, slightly amused and slightly annoyed.

"I opened the door," she answered. _Smart answer there, Tokio. Of course you opened the door. Duh._

"Opened the door? It just let you in?"

"It? It what? Why? Was it not supposed to? Not like there's anything to protect. These books are all blank."

Saitou frowned. The library had very very old magic protecting it. No one could apparate in, no one without the King's permission could enter. The books were also sealed. No one could read them without the proper magic.

She could not read the books or see anything. No surprise, she had no magic. But the doors simply let her in? That could only happen if….if she had absolutely no ill will toward Fujita. Could he really trust her like Okita had?

"So I should probably leave…" she said, picking herself up.

"Wait," he commanded, picking up the book she had dropped. "What did you want to read?" he asked.

"Nothing in particular. Anything…except poetry. I hate poetry." Saitou almost smiled at that. A woman who didn't like poetry. That was a first in his book.

"Here," he said, handing her the book. Tokio looked down. Now it had a title and the pages were full of words.

"What the hell? What did you do?" she asked, curiosity overcoming caution.

"Removed the magic keeping you from seeing it." Tokio now looked at all the shelves. Titles sprang out like glowing invitations. The uniformity it had once had was gone. Even some dust was evident.

"How do you get the ones down from up there?" she asked, pointing upward. Saitou extended his hand and a book from the utmost shelf pulled itself out, flying down.

"Oh…more magic," she said, the excitement lost.

"You seem to dislike magic a great deal," he commented.

"I don't dislike it….I just don't have any. It's a constant reminder of what I will never be able to achieve."

"Don't waste your life moping over what you do not have. Use what you do have."

Tokio gave an unladylike snort.

"What? You mean the beauty I was cursed with?" she said harshly. "That has stronger bars on my future than not being able to do magic."

"There are other qualities besides Beauty."

"Funny, no one else seems to care about those," she answered in a small voice.

Saitou looked down at her curiously. Okita was right. She was a lost pup who had long since abandoned her pack and now roamed alone….and vulnerable. Sure, he had been the same having come to the throne at the age of 15, but she was no man. She had not been conditioned from birth to take on this burden.

Tokio curled herself up in a corner…or at least tried until a chair suddenly appeared under her. A big, fluffy, comfortable chair. She looked up at the King but he seemed lost in thought as he stared up at the book shelves. The man was a mystery in many ways. So dark, cold and scary, yet he did the smallest things that proved otherwise. Not that it ever showed in his face.

"What sword art do your father and step-brother study?" he asked. Tokio looked up curiously.

"Sword art? You mean like technique?" He gave a brief nod. "I'm not sure, I never saw them practice. Something called Hiten Mitsurugiryu I think."

"And here I thought all princesses went down to stare at men practicing."

"Watch a bunch of men hack at each other, all covered in dirt and sweat? Yuck! Besides, my father forbid me to go anywhere near them."

Saitou frowned. "Why?" he asked. Tokio's white cheeks easily turned red although her eyes did not leave the page she was on.

"He said I was a distraction…."came her hesitant answer. Saitou almost laughed. A distraction? Only weak men let a pretty woman distract them. "Only father, Kenshin and Lord Aoshi didn't do…stupid things when I was around. Sometimes I wonder if Lord Aoshi doesn't like girls."

Now Saitou did chuckle. Lord Aoshi? The fierce Lord Aoshi? Gay? Ah the mind of a naïve sixteen year old girl.

"If I asked you questions about your country would you answer them truthfully?" he asked.

"Of course. You are my host. By Kyoto law I am required to accommodate my host in any way possible. I'll warn you though. If it was anything important my father would not have told me. He doesn't really tell anyone anything."

"I need to know my adversary."

"You're going to war against Kyoto, aren't you?" she asked, looking up. She looked sad, but not surprised.

"Kyoto has declared was on us," was his reply.

"Then I'm not going home anytime soon…" she asked tentatively.

"Not unless your step-brother's head shows up on a plate, no."

Most other women would have been devastated at such news. Why the hell did she look so happy? Saitou finally found the books he needed. He did not have time for idle chit chat with the prisoner princess. She was contently engrossed in her book

Saitou poured over the military books, quickly flipping through irrelevant information. There was no documentation on the sword style she had mentioned, except a brief explanation of the fall of a province in the far north some centuries ago being due to a warrior named Hiko who was rumored to have mastered the same technique. It was no secret Hiko's real name was unknown and had been passed down to him from his father.

"Always only one successor. Never more than one. Must be one deadly succession technique. Idiots."

But what could that tell him of Kyoto's army?

He pulled his eyes from the pages of the book and looked down at the chess set he and Okita had once played on long winter nights when Okita had been too ill to sleep.

_Why the hell didn't I think of that before!_


	4. Not just another pretty face

**Chapter 4: Not just another pretty face**

"Oh god….frills AND lace?" Tokio said with a groan as Saori and about ten other maids pulled out the dresses that had been made for her the week before. More were on the way. She was going to have a wardrobe fit for a princess of any kingdom. Tokio groaned again.

"Off with those breeches, my lady. It's time you start looking like your station. Mari, bring me that corset."

"You pull that thing too tight and I'll scream," Tokio said, glaring down at the little servant.

"Nonsense. A girl your age is still growing. If we pull it too tight it might ruin your figure for life."

"Then by all means, pull it too tight," Tokio muttered. _Why is everyone else worried about my figure? Not like a little damage would really hurt it_.

"Ok, next we need the undergown," Saori said. Tokio tried not to roll her eyes too much. The undergown was a dress in and of itself. Then a large court gown would go over that. It would probably weigh a ton. All those damn jewels sewn in probably didn't help.

Tokio remained still as the women bustled all around her, pulling on this, tugging on that, rearranging a bit here, bit there. By the end her breasts were threatening to pop out of the square cut. They rose and fell with every breath. Tokio tried to breathe less conspicuously. God knows men would be staring at them anyway. Why men seemed to like doing that was beyond her. Surely there were more interesting things to look at.

Next they attacked her hair, pulling the curls this way and that, attempting to run a brush through parts of it. Tokio's face went from grimace to impassive. This was just like home. The dresses. The hair. The fashion. The pain of it. The fakeness of it all. And to think some women would not think of stepping outside their rooms without doing this.

Saori pulled out a small coronet. It had Kyoto's Dragon engraved on it. Oh boy. Not only did he want her shown off, but he was flaunting the fact he had Kyoto's princess. King Saitou never was a subtle man.

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"Your majesty, the guests are all ready and waiting in the banquet hall," a servant said, entering with a package under his arm. "The item you requested, sire." He set it upon the table.

"The princess?" Saitou asked.

"Waiting in the corridor." Saitou cracked a smile.

"Let's see how Kyoto's diplomats handle their precious princess on the arm of the enemy," he said aloud to no one in particular. The princess was probably pissed beyond reason, but she would do as she was instructed. Such was the law she was brought up under.

The book of Kyoto law lay on his table, opened. He was shuffling through it whenever he had a spare moment or two. Kyoto had many fascinating laws. Saitou wondered if Hiko himself knew half of them.

He pulled on the regal jacket, but did not bother with the crown. It was just a bunch of diplomats. He was not about to have a three hour headache for them. Nope, only Princess Tokio would have that issue. He almost felt sorry for her….almost. She was used to being a pawn. He certainly treated her better than her father had and she already knew he would use her as such. So far she had made no complaints.

Such was the training of a princess.

He stepped out of the room, immediately flanked by his bodyguards. At the end of the hallway stood the entourage that was surrounding the princess. Saori quickly moved aside.

Princess Tokio was stunning. Everything about her was perfect from the gown to the color setting off her skin and best features, right to the perfect coronet nestled upon her head. Her shoulders were back, chin straight, eyes straight ahead. Whatever training she had back in Kyoto had just kicked in. No longer did she look like a half shy girl. Now she looked like a powerful member of a royal family. Even if deep down inside, he knew, she was still that shy girl.

Her eyes, however, managed to catch him off guard. It was like she wasn't there. She stared straight ahead looking at nothing. Wherever Tokio was, she was not here. Saitou frowned. Had that too been part of her training? Her face was void of expression. Normally honey colored warm eyes were cold and distant.

_I think I just found a female version of myself,_ Saitou thought wirily. He offered his arm and she obediently put hers through his, eye still straight ahead.

"You could try to smile," he said as they walked toward the double doors the servants were opening.

"Aa, I could," she answered, voice distant and cold. "As could you."

Saitou chuckled. Did she always get this backbone when put in a corset?

There were ten diplomats of Kyoto. Seven were men, three were women. Among them were Lord Aizu and his sister Lady Megumi. Prince Sanosuke had accompanied them as well as a neutral representing his father, King Sagara. In truth it was just an excuse to go with Lady Megumi, sister to the Duke of Aizu.

The doors to the room opened and the King was announced…but that was not what made them jump to their feet in shock.

"King Saitou of Fujita and Princess Tokio of Kyoto," the man announced.

"WHAT?" Megumi said, none to silently.

Sure enough. There was Cousin Tokio all bedecked and gorgeous on the arm of the man going to war against Kyoto. Not that she looked happy….or unhappy. She just looked void.

Saitou ignored the woman's comment. He chose to ignore outspoken women. He escorted the Princess to the seat next to his, sat her down and pushed in her chair. That brought even more shocked expressions. Obviously Tokio was being well treated.

"I must say, my lady, you are looking positively heavenly," Prince Sano said, breaking the silence and tension. Tokio gave a slight incline of her head, accepting the compliment.

People calmed somewhat, but where still buzzing with questions. Megumi was trying to catch her cousin's eye but Tokio seemed to be deliberately ignoring her, which only infuriated the slightly older woman. But she wasn't in Kyoto. She did not have to bow to her older cousin's wishes. She merely ate her meal in peace.

After the meal King Saitou allowed the flood gates to open. Whatever questions the diplomats had prepared for him were now forgotten as they all wanted to know what their princess was doing here.

"Princess Tokio is here as my guest. When I deem it appropriate to send her back I will," King Saitou said, stopping the mish mash of questions.

"Princess, are you here against your will?" Duke Aizu asked. King Saitou looked over at his prisoner. Tokio carefully wiped her mouth and set down her napkin. She looked up at her cousin, the Duke.

"I am a guest, Cousin. You came here under Treaty flags and yet your manners escape you?"

"And when do you plan on coming home?" Megumi demanded. "We've been worried sick about you for months!"

"Have you really?" Tokio asked, her voice light, but not too much disbelief. "And my father?"

That shut Megumi up. Tokio looked at each of them but no one answered. Treaty rules bound them to not outright lie. So King Hiko had not missed his daughter.

"Do you not understand what is going on between our two countries?" Duke Aizu asked of his little cousin. "While you are pampered, men die for-"

"Pampered?" Tokio interrupted. "First you make thieves, then you punish them. Nice Cousin. Very nice."

Saitou's eyebrow rose. So she knew foreign literature? And understood it? Just what had she been reading out of his library? If there was ever a Princess who hated her position, Tokio was it. Yet she did not really complain. Sure, she didn't like the dresses or the formal occasions or anything else, but she hardly went whining and crying to everyone around her about her awful plight.

"You were born to privilege and with that comes specific obligations," Megumi said through clenched teeth. Tokio turned to face her other cousin.

"Yes, one of which is to be a proper guest no matter who your host is. Or do you prefer to bend the law whenever it is convenient to you?"

"Which law?" Duke Aizu asked.

"Kyoto Law, Doctrine 34, Article 78, section 5. _A royal guest is to accommodate their host. Any harm done to the host without proof of a previous grievance against the guest by the host will result in banishment or death._"

"You always were a walking dictionary," Megumi said with a growl. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were sleeping with him."

The entire room went dead silent. King Saitou tried very hard not to laugh. Him….a 30+ year old King sleeping with a 16 year old girl? He was old enough to be her father. Sure, she was beautiful, but that did not mean he was going to take advantage of her. He looked sideways at Tokio.

She looked extremely confused. Her posture changed instantly. The shy, uncertain girl was back. Her head was slightly cocked sideways in that way that signaled she was totally clueless about something.

"Sleeping with King Saitou? Why would I want to? I have my own bed," she replied, the ice in her voice gone.

"Still naïve as the day she was born," Megumi said with a smug grin.

"Eh? Tokio! You never heard of the birds and the bees?" Prince Sano said, a fish bone sticking out of his mouth.

"The birds and the bees? What does that have to do with sleeping?" Now she was full blown confused. A wicked grin appeared on the young prince's face.

"I'd be happy to lend you a few books," he said. Megumi promptly cuffed the back of his head. "What, fox? I didn't say I was gonna give her a tutorial!"

"Why would I want to read a book on birds and bees?" Tokio asked softly.

Saitou's frown had deepened. For such an intelligent woman there was a huge significant gap in her education. Did she never wonder where children come from?

"You idiot," Megumi hissed to Sano. "She doesn't know and won't know. If you put a book in front of her she wouldn't see the print or pictures."

"Eh? Where's the fun of that?"

Unbeknownst to them Saitou heard every word. His eyes briefly narrowed. Wouldn't see the print or pictures? That had to be a spell. What sort of spell would leave a girl ignorant of the facts of life? Tokio looked over at him, still very confused.

"I'll explain later," was all he said. That seemed to do the trick. The uncertain girl left, replaced by the cool exterior of a royal woman. Megumi and Sano were still arguing on the other side of the table.


	5. All Fun and Games

**Chapter 5: All fun and games**

Tokio was all too happy to pull herself out of the fancy gown and pull her breeches back on. New vests and pants had been made for her. Tokio never questioned where they'd come from. She was a princess. Things always came from somewhere, but no one ever told her from where. Asking did not tend to get many answers. Replies were not always answers.

There was a knock on the door. Tokio quickly pulled on her shirt.

"Come in," she said. If it was one of her cousins or another of those diplomats they better be ready to be kicked out.

A small page opened the door and audibly gulped when he saw her face. She immediately relaxed and softened.

"H-his m-m-majesty s-s-sent for y-y-you," the poor boy stuttered.

"I'll be ready in a minute. What's your name?" she asked.

"374," the boy replied.

"374? You're kidding me. Your name is a number?" He gestured to the back of his uniform which had a number.

"Where you born with that name?" The boy giggled.

"No, my lady. All pages are given a number. That's what we are called."

"So what's your real name?"

"Tanaka, Juniro Tanaka."

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a smile. "Can you take me to the King please?"

"You bet!" the kid said with a hop. Gone was the fear. He now liked the pretty lady, no matter how scary she'd been when he'd first come in the room.

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King Saitou was still half in regal attire when she opened the door. He motioned for her to come in and sit down by the fire. A board was laying out by the fire, pieces scattered each and every way. Her eyes widened.

"Senryaku!" she said, immediately recognizing the game. (A/N Senryaku strategy; In this story it is a war strategy game from Kyoto.)

"You know it?" he asked casually, flipping through some book on his table.

"It's Kenshin's favorite game."

"Good, then you can teach me how to play," he said. "Why don't you set it up while I finish this?"

"Set it up? You don't know anything about this game do you?" He looked up, hearing the smugness in her voice.

"Not a clue. Why?"

"You're supposed to set up your own side. If I set up your side I could easily sabotage you. See the pieces? I can only see the back which shows nothing. I can't tell if it's a knight, an archer or a mage."

"So don't look at them, just stick them in random places."

"All right, but you aren't going to win…." she said, flipping over his pieces.

"For now knowledge, not victory, is the key," came his reply.

Tokio finished setting up his army, all the while keeping a calm and innocent face. '_You think you are so smart. Ha! Trying to figure out war strategies from a board game? Let's see how long you are willing to play this little game, my King. In the meantime I'll stay as far away from my bloody father as possible. I may be selfish, arrogant, conceited and a spoiled brat, but I'll be damned if I'm just going to let go of this freedom.'_

Saitou sat across from her, a deep from upon his face as he looked at the game before him. Tokio was smug about something. Well, if winning a few silly games made her happy it was better than having a whiney princess on his hands. Bad enough he had to figure out things for her to do that would keep her away from her meddling cousins for the duration of their stay. Prince Kenshin thought to negotiate the terms for Tokio's release and a treaty for the two countries, but Saitou was not about to give in that easily. If Prince Kenshin thought the threat of his army was that great he had another thing coming.

Tokio moved her pieces in silence. The king had been in meetings all day and then that horrid dinner banquet. It was easy to see he was not in a talkative mood. Maybe it was from her experience with her father or maybe she was just good at reading people's moods. Whatever it was, the king was an open book. Nonsense chatter would probably only piss him off more. Although he didn't look it, he was less than pleased about her cousins being here. Especially the Duke. Aizu always did have an impulsive streak.

Tokio yawned around 3am, looking up at the clock.

"Can we finish this another day?" she asked.

"Aa," came his reply. Then he gave a small smirk. "But how will you know I didn't peak?"

"That's why there's a thin blanket to wrap it in. You just lay it over the board."

"I could still peak."

"Yes, but I trust you won't," she said with another yawn.

"Get to bed," he said, all mirth gone. The man had mood swings like a pregnant woman.

"Yes, your majesty," she said and let herself out. King Saitou was a difficult man to figure out. Were that Okita were still here. Okita had known him since they were children and made the most complex of Saitou's behaviors seem so simple.

A gloved hand appeared from a dark corner and wrapped itself around her mouth, yanking her into the shadows. Tokio had been totally unaware. Adrenaline pumped into her veins as fear caused her senses to become acute. _Oh shit!_

(Shall I end it here? Nah…not long enough.)

Tokio wanted to scream, but the person holding her had a thick leather glove on to prevent noise and biting. Intuitive little bastard.

"Relax, cousin," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. It was Aizu. Tokio let out a sigh of relief and he released his hand, checking the corridor for guards. No one was there.

"You scared the shit out of me!" she whispered through clenched teeth. "I thought someone was going to assassinate me for sure!"

"You women and your imaginations," he said, pulling her down another corridor.

"Where are we going?"

"We're cutting the negotiations short. We're leaving as soon as the horses can be snuck out of the stable."

"Well that's rude," Tokio said as they came to an unfamiliar door. They were in another wing of the castle, she realized. Probably the guest wing. Where were all the guards?

"Stealing another country's princess is rude too."

"He didn't actually steal me, you know. I kind of wandered in on my own stupidity. Besides, living here is better than Kyoto." Her cousin reached for the door and opened it, his face hard and stern with a deep frown.

"I cannot believe you just said that. You sound like a traitor."

"If stating the fact that I am treated like something more than shit is being a traitor, then I guess I am one," Tokio snapped, following him inside the room.

Then she saw the guards. More than thirty guards were leaned against the walls or in various chairs, fast asleep. Megumi was checking vital signs.

"So easy, so gullible. Hey cousin, so nice of you to join us."

"What are you two doing?" Tokio asked, appalled.

"Well, we didn't hurt them. They're just asleep," Aizu said. He handed a bundle to Megumi. Tokio began to back away from them.

"I don't know what you think you are doing, but this is breaking some serious treaty laws. King Saitou is not going to be hap-" she was cut off as a pressure point in her neck was pushed, sending her crumbling to the floor.

"Honestly," Sanosuke said, looking down at her. "You'd think she'd wanted to stay here." Aizu laughed but Megumi frowned.

"We'll have to keep her drugged," she said. "Tokio will run the first chance we give her."

"What is she? Masochistic?" Sano asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No. Honorable," Megumi said, her face suddenly sad. "We are forcing her to break her word. I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to harm one of us in the meantime. Keep sharp objects away from her."

"You have got to be joking," Sano said. The look on Megumi's face said otherwise. "Oh boy, dad is not going to be happy if he finds out I'm a part of this."

"Then make sure he doesn't find out," Aizu hissed.

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Saitou rolled over in the large bed, something nagging him. Something didn't feel right. As the clock passed 4am he knew something was up. The guards at his door always changed at that time. He always heard the rustle of cloth and light footsteps. The two guards outside the door were shifting from foot to foot, obviously slightly worried as well.

He closed his eyes and _felt _the castle. Many people were sleeping. Too many it seemed. He frowned. He searched for the diplomats, finding nothing. That was the first clue. Then he searched Tokio's room. Again, nothing.

Now Saitou was no fool. When he had taken Tokio on as a prisoner he took extra precautions, especially when he knew of the diplomats' arrival. She had a marker on her, a magical homing device of sorts. It took extra energy and quite a bit of concentration but he managed to locate her.

She was on horseback, riding hard to the west. Several powerful people were around her, the Kyoto nobles he assumed. So she had finally tried to flee. _No,_ he thought, concentrating harder. _She's unconscious!_

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I had a question about ages. Uh...I just sort of picked some...didn't really think about it at the time except that I wanted Tokio to be fairly young (based on the idea that princesses were married off at an early age and being this young makes her more impressionable) and I wanted Saitou to be well established etc...which means he would be older. That's not based on any previous information. The information I read about will come in later...I'll mark it so you know exactly where I got my idea from. Includes quite a bit of humiliation...(shudder). I wouldn't want to be in those shoes for the world!

Anyway, yes this will be part of a trilogy. Sano still has to get Megumi after all...and Kenshin and Kaoru have to figure out how to be husband and wife...while ruling two different countries. I'm writing parts of it now...although I have many other stories I'm working on so it may be a while. Right now I'm revising and toning down this story so it can fit under the R rate. Not much editing needed here in the beginning...but chapter 13 or so will need it.

Thanks for the reviews!

These are kind of short, I know….hopefully I will increase in length as I go. The NC17 parts won't come for a while, but when they do there will be no question as to why I made it NC17.


	6. Caught

**Chapter 6: Caught**

Tokio groaned as something hard rammed into her stomach repeatedly. She tried to roll away from it only to find she was tightly secured. Opening her eyes she looked around her.

She was bundled up with a bunch of blankets across the saddle of a grey horse whose reins were being held by Aizu as they galloped in the darkness. Her feet and hands were bound, blankets between her and the saddle, but not offering enough padding for the current pace they were setting. Aizu was high tailing it out of there. She looked behind her and saw the sun was just starting to creep over the horizon. Dawn approached.

"She's waking up!" Megumi shouted and the horses immediately slowed. Tokio began to slowly reorient herself. She felt the binds around her feet give way and she was suddenly swung astride on the saddle. Unsure of her balance she fell forward across the horse's neck. The animal shied a bit, almost unseating her.

"Hold still, dammit! Megumi, give her another dose!" Tokio looked around. Only five people were around. No Sano. Guess they had split up. Probably to throw off guards if Saitou had sent any after them. Tokio doubted he would. Not like she was any great loss.

"More than one every six hours could put her in a coma!"

"Well she's not supposed to wake up so her metabolism must be fast or something!" Aizu snapped. "Just have everyone ride behind us. If she falls off someone pull up and hold on to her." Tokio's ankles were then bound tightly and tied around the belly of the horse. The only thing that kept her in the saddle was the bunch of blankets all around her. Even then it would be a miracle if she could stay upright in the saddle. Secretly she hoped she fell off and broke her neck. It would serve her father right to have a rescue mission go wrong.

The horses were off again although a bit slower this time to accommodate Tokio's lack of coordination. The sun was hitting their backs now, giving subtle promise of a warm day ahead. Aizu pulled them off the road and into the trees, short cutting across the land. He suddenly reined in, fear evident on his face.

"Shit!" Tokio heard Megumi swear. Megumi never swore. What was wrong? She managed to look up into the clearing ahead.

Saitou sat atop a very dark, menacing looking war horse. Behind him was a small army of guardsmen. They looked fresh, well rested and very unhappy.

"I believe this is where I tell you to give it up, Aizu," King Saitou said. "Not only have you broken several laws, yours and mine, but you steal a guest of mine without her consent."

"Megumi, I'm going to gate you out of here," Aizu said quietly. "Take Tokio and go."

"No!" Megumi hissed. "He's the highest class mage! He can easily redirect your gate to wherever he wants. It's too risky."

"I'm going to distract him. At the opportune moment I'll throw up the gate. It'll be fast and unstable. Get ready to jump through it no matter what."

"Brother-" Megumi began, horror in her eyes. He looked down at her.

"I have lost honor by breaking our laws. You can regain it by bringing Tokio back. It's the only way. If we give in we'll all be prisoners." Megumi's eyes welled up with tears, but she refused to let them fall.

"I have a war to wage, Aizu, I haven't got all day!" Saitou snapped. Aizu stepped his horse out and dismounted.

"I challenge you, King Saitou. One-to-one death by combat." Megumi gave a sharp gasp. Neither man could back down. Aizu was no match for the king. Not now and not ever. He had signed his death warrant.

Saitou dismounted and drew his sword. He had a rather sarcastic grin upon his face.

"Fool," was all he said as Aizu came rushing at him.

Tokio heard the clash of blades and looked up. Aizu was battling Saitou. There were a lot of blurs of movement and grunts of pain. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to get her blurry mind to focus. How had King Saitou gotten here? Megumi let out a strangled cry and Tokio looked up.

Aizu's blade had been flung far to the other side and he was down on one knee, his leg pooling with blood. King Saitou stood above him, readying for the final blow. Tokio's heart stopped. Her cousin, for all he was an ass, was about to become blood on Saitou's sword.

"Fool, Aizu. Just what did you expect to accomplish by challenging me?" Saitou asked, staring down at the man whose life he would take. Aizu's eyes opened, glowing with the power. Saitou's own shields were already up, but he neglected to notice what Aizu was doing. It wasn't offensive.

"Time," Aizu said and rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

It all happened too fast for anyone to really know what caused what. The gate opened, Saitou's blade came down, Megumi screamed, Tokio tensed and the horse under her shied. Megumi missed grabbing the bridle as it was ripped from her and her horse jumped in surprise at the other horse's obvious fear. Aizu's head went rolling across the grass and the gate closed.

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Tokio tried to orient herself as the horse galloped back the way they'd come. Her fear only aided the animal's natural fear of the sudden turn of events. The forest trees went flying by at an alarming rate.

_Aizu is dead. King Saitou killed him. Why did he challenge the king? Am I worth people sacrificing their very lives?_

The world was beginning to come into focus more. The fields were flying by now as the horse jumped over ditches and bushes, lather running down its legs. Tokio strained to stay on as her bound hands gripped the mane painfully tight. Where was this crazy animal going to run to? Would it run off a cliff and kill her? Would it ever stop?

Tokio got an answer to her question all too soon. Having run for several hours before and now running to its utmost maximum out of pure fear the horse collapsed from exhaustion. Its legs buckled and they went tumbling down, Tokio still tied to the saddle.

She felt pain shoot up her spine as the horse completely flipped, half rolling onto its back and her. For several moments she lay there as the horse gave a final shuddered breath. The last thing she remembered was seeing the sun crest over the mountains, bathing her face in sunlight. Then all went black.

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Where had she gone? Stupid Aizu had put her on a half broken horse that did what any other animal accustomed to being prey would do. It bolted. Tokio was tied to the saddle. There was no way she would have been able to slow that horse, even if she were an expert rider and untied.

"Sire, we found the tracks. They lead east," a guard reported. The diplomats had been rounded up. He looked at them, eyes cold and dark. If she was hurt over their stupidity….

"You," he pointed to one. "Go back to your prince and tell him the new Duchess of Aizu will be staying with her cousin. And if her cousin dies from this foolishness, she will die. The rest I will be willing to exchange for Tomoe."

Megumi looked at the scary king, eyes wide with fear. She could only hope her cousin was not faring poorly. Her life depended on it.

Her gaze turned to the diplomats still huddled in a group. They would die. Every last one of them. The king would show no mercy when he found out.

Kenshin had married Tomoe. There was no way he'd let her go. Not for diplomats, not for anyone. The man was too far in love. Men in love did stupid things. And the people would suffer for it.


	7. Healing

**Chapter 7: Healing**

"Will she live?" King Saitou asked the physician as he leaned over his very own bed, Tokio laying bruised and battered on the drawn back sheets. She looked like death. The horse had not only fallen on her, it had rolled most of its weight on her as well. There were no gashes, no wounds spouting blood, but that didn't mean she wasn't critically injured.

"She's got multiple fractures, a concussion, internal bleeding, a ruptured lung and a broken pelvis," the doctor said calmly, hoping his diagnosis would not be his death sentence. "I don't know if the concussion is mild or serious. She may never wake again."

Megumi stood at the door, her face turning ashen white. Good gods! The dose of tranquilizer and bondage had sentenced Tokio to death. For all that she hated King Saitou for kidnapping her cousin, this was entirely their own fault. They had forced her to leave. They had gone up against one of the most powerful mages in the world. They had tied her to a half trained skittish horse. They had dosed her so she wasn't in complete control of her actions.

And poor Tokio, the recipient of all of this, was merely a pawn. The piece upon the chess board fought over so much she had cracked.

"What about Healers?" Megumi found herself asking. "Surely a group of them can save her. The internal bleeding has not gone on that long! There is still a chance!"

"There are only two Healers in this palace," the physician said calmly.

"Then Gate more in!" Megumi shouted, tears running down her face.

"Idiot," the king hissed. "We don't even know where they are and to Gate around carelessly like that would be suicide. By the time we locate them it will be too late."

"You cannot do nothing! I will not let you do nothing!" she screamed. "Get the hell out of my way," she said, pushing the physician over.

"What are you doing?" the older man squawked, hitting the floor with a thud.

"If she dies I die right?" she asked. King Saitou nodded briefly, a slightly bored expression upon his face as if it was a nuisance to have to reaffirm the obvious. "I was trained as a Healer but not given rank because of my family's position at Court."

"But lady! Even a full, experienced Healer would kill themself if they tried to heal all of her! It would take too much energy!" the physician protested.

"Either way I die," Megumi said softly. "At least let me give her a chance to live. This is my fault anyway. I should not have let this happen."

King Saitou's eyes narrowed a fraction and the physician looked back at him for a decision. Slowly he gave a nod, allowing her to proceed.

"I want everyone out," Megumi said. "Warm water, a knife, thread, needles, alcohol sterilizer and-"

"She wants surgery prep," Saitou informed the physician who quickly nodded and made himself scarce. Saitou looked at the guards at the door and indicated they should leave. Now it was just him, Megumi and Tokio.

"I was hoping you would stay," Megumi said, pulling Tokio's tattered clothes off. Saitou pulled the blankets from the bed and spread them upon the large table, knocking everything off of it in one fell swoop. Megumi managed to get the rest of the clothing off and carefully covered her unconscious cousin with a sheet. "Can you levitate her over so we don't jar her anymore than necessary?" she asked. Saitou did not reply, but suddenly Tokio was no longer in the bed and upon the table in less than a blink of an eye. So he could apparate other people? Powerful mage indeed.

"Anything else?" Saitou asked condescendingly.

"How badly do you want her to live?" Megumi asked, her face white and strained. There was something she wasn't telling him. Saitou frowned. "Listen, I can fix most of the damage, but I don't have the power to fix a concussion, ruptured lung or extensive internal bleeding. If I show you where and how can you….will you?" she corrected herself. There was no doubt he would be able to. Whether he would was another matter.

Saitou said nothing, but briefly nodded. The physician came in with a great big black bag and began pulling out everything, laying it along the table. Megumi followed him, throwing things back in that were of no use. She was hardly going to do dental work; no sense in having those tools. The physician looked like he was going to stay….too curious for his own good, but a glare from Saitou made him scamper off. With a twitch of his fingers the heavy oak bar floated upward and slammed down into the braces across the door, sealing them in from further intrusion.

"Woman, you tell ANYONE of this and you will wish I killed you next to your brother," he said darkly, amber eyes burning.

"Not a charity type, huh?" she replied dryly, ignoring the threat. At this rate, unless by some miracle Tokio lived, she would be dead. It was just the manner and method that changed. "Ok, stand on the opposite side. I'm going to work on her abdomen first. If her kidneys rupture it's all over in a matter of minutes."

"What of her concussion?" he asked.

"Your physician might be good with the common cold, but he had no mage sight what so ever. Look at her head. She has light bruising, nothing more. The horse rolled. It didn't rear up and fall on her head. She would have broken her neck if that'd happened. I'm more worried about the other internal bleeding and that lung."

"Show me where you want the power," he said calmly. "I have it."

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"How long they been in there?" the replacement guard asked the ones at the door. They looked dead on their feet. Some of the guards were still sleeping off the effects of the drug Megumi had put in their ale so guards were in short supply.

"Since daybreak….about eight hours I think," the sleepy one replied. "Not a peep either."

"Think she's killed him?"

"That little woman? Kill the King? HA!"

"Well she is a witch," the other grumbled. "My head still feels like a blacksmith is making a hundred horseshoes."

"She drugged us, you dolt. The King has more sense than to eat or drink anything she touches!"

"Suppose yer right. Well, see ya at midnight."

"Someone else better be awake by then."

"Don't count on it."

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Megumi yawned again, her eyes blurring. She'd been stitching for hours. Tokio's breathing had become sure and steady. There was blood everywhere, but there was still color in the pale woman's face so evidently she still had plenty. Saitou was holding a pale of water and occasionally wiped blood from her fingers. It was getting more and more difficult to grasp the needle.

"Can you see the torn flesh here?" she asked, extending the last bit of her power to illuminate the area she was talking about. "I need the flesh to speed heal like this," she demonstrated, her power inducing cell replication and adhesion. Just as her power was wavering, at the last of its reserve a stronger one took over. Saitou was more than a fast learner. He was bloody brilliant! She didn't even have to finish a demonstration before he was ten steps ahead of her.

The last stitch went in and Megumi tied it off. Tokio would have feint scars across her abdomen but that wasn't half as bad as dieing. Exhausted, her knees gave out and she fell to the floor.

"The pelvic bone will heal, but she'll probably never walk again," Megumi said quietly. "I can't heal bone. It takes too much energy. And we can only hope waste did not collect enough to do serious damage to her metabolism. Otherwise we may yet lose her. If she dies before I wake….please, just kill me quickly. I don't want to wake with the knowledge I failed."

Before Saitou could comment Megumi passed out. He picked her up and removed the bar across the door. One of the guards startled, a confused look upon his face as Saitou handed her over.

"Place her in a guest room, guarded at all times. She is not to leave those quarters, understood?" They nodded. "Send Saori to her when she wakes."

Saitou closed the door again, replacing the bar across it. Tokio was still not healed. The waste in her body and the broken bones could still prove to be fatal. What if bone fragments made it into her bloodstream…or worse, into her heart? Megumi had done all she could.

"And to think I hated my father for making me take something as useless as Healing. A waste of good sword training time, I had claimed," Saitou said to himself with an ironic smile. Tokio's color was fading. Her body was going in overdrive trying to heal. And yet her vital signs were amazingly strong. This was not a woman who wanted to die.

Which amazed the hell out of him. What the hell did she have to live for? What was so important that she had refused to give up even in the face of certain death? She certainly was stronger than she appeared. And she was under his protection. Something he could not ignore. Somehow letting her just…..die….was not an option in his mind. She was not dead yet, therefore there had to be some reason for her to live.

What it was, he did not know, but that would not stop him.

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Tokio wanted to groan. Groaning took energy. Too much energy. Something she had no spare reserve of. She also wanted to move. Muscles were cramped and complaining. And gods was she hungry!

It took a great deal of effort to open her eyes. Then to focus them. Who knew eyes took so much energy? Her surroundings look somewhat familiar, but not from the vantage point she was used to. Her brain fuzzily tried to figure out where she was.

His room. Good lord, she was in the King's room, in his BED! Who the hell had put her in the King's bed?

A patch of black caught her eye and her eyes slowly rotated to the side. From the way she was propped up on the pillows she could see a head of black hair laying on the side of the bed. One arm lay sprawled above it, hiding the face. That didn't prevent her from identifying it though.

King Saitou was sprawled across the bed in an undignified manner, his hair ruffled and unwashed. And if she was not mistaken, that was a very soft, light snore. Tokio tried to giggle. She really did. It came out a wheezy sort of snort and her chest contracted painfully.

Amber eyes looked up, first sharp and accusing, then slightly confused. Wow, emotion flickered across his face. She'd have to remember that. Guess His majesty was a bit of a slow start in the morning. Immediately the stone cold face fell, a blink removing all emotion from hard amber eyes.

"It's about time you woke up," he said gruffly, sounding annoyed. She knew better.

"I knew I was good at Senryaku, but isn't this a little extreme to keep your adversary alive?" she replied.


	8. Easy does itor maybe not

**Chapter 8: Easy does it…or maybe not**

_Previously : "I knew I was good at Senryaku, but isn't this a little extreme to keep your adversary alive?" she replied._

His eyes narrowed at the double meaning she was throwing at him.

"You are under my protection," he answered, as if that answered everything.

"What…about the others?" she asked, hesitantly. "My cousin?"

"Now that you are awake, she will be allowed out of her rooms. The others are political prisoners."

"Why?" she asked, confused. "Aizu is…dead. They were just following orders."

"Because your step-brother has the fiancée of one of my vassals. He may have killed my men, but I will not let him keep my sister."

Tokio's eyes widened. Kenshin had the King's sister? How the hell had that happened. Then her eyes narrowed.

"I thought your father only had one kid."

"Father, yes. Hence why I am King. Mother, however, had a husband and daughter before being married to my father. Tomoe is my half sister and was affianced to her childhood friend, Akira. Your step-brother killed Akira and has refused to return Tomoe."

"When was all this?" she asked.

"Just before you arrived at the palace."

"So that's why you kept me," she said, realization dawning. "But Kenshin doesn't harm women….why would he keep her….unless this is leverage against you?"

"It is not. However, I do not abandon my citizens. Especially kin. I do not know why he has not even considered releasing her. She is of no threat to anyone. She…is a lot like you, in a way," he said with a frown. Why was he suddenly confiding in her so much? Okita had suggested her as a councilor….well, that and more. Even he needed someone to unload upon occasionally. Problem was, this was the daughter of his enemy.

The daughter who didn't want to go home.

"There must be some reason," she said with a frown. "Kenshin does not do anything without reason." Saitou's eyes clouded in rage at the mention of his name, but did not reply. Guess that was a touchy subject. "Maybe Megumi has news. May I see her?"

"That woman? In my room again? I think not. You will have to wait until you are well."

"What, you can't levitate me to my own room? You really are selfish, aren't you," she commented. That startled him. Him? Selfish?

"Selfish?" he drawled, his lip curling in disdain.

"Don't give me that tone of voice! Yes, selfish. You always have to do everything yourself. No one else is **_competent_** enough to handle it. You never let anyone else even think of doing something because god forbid anything should go wrong! Wake up! People make mistakes! It's a part of life! You make mistakes too. It's just there is no one who has the guts or rank to tell you." Her eyes were blazing, color returning to her cheeks as she met him glare for glare.

"Are you done now?" he asked mildly.

"The hell I am!" she snapped. "Someone needs to put you in your place now that Okita is gone."

"What makes you think you gained the privilege?" he asked dryly.

"I figured you would have enough sense not to kill me after all the hard work you put into keeping me alive," she said with a grin, knowing full well it was true.

"A wise observation."

"I thought so. Now can I see my cousin or do we get to fight again over it?"

"I think I prefer the fighting," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Fine, be that way," she said, closing her eyes. Silence echoed in the room. He frowned. That was it? No further argument. Then her stomach growled.

"Hungry?" he asked. She did not answer. She reached up slowly and scratched her nose. Damn vixen. She wasn't asleep. She was ignoring him! "Damn brat. I'll get your damn cousin, but don't think you can always have your way just because you are healing," he snapped.

As he left she allowed herself to smile, just a bit. So he didn't like being ignored? King Saitou rarely snapped unless someone was being truly incompetent. She wasn't being stupid, just difficult. She'd have to remember that. That and only to use it when absolutely necessary so he did not become immune to her little game. He would be in a foul mood having been manipulated.

Question was…why did he care enough to allow himself to be manipulated?

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"Sire," the vassal said, bowing before his king. Saitou sat upon the throne, brooding. What the hell had put him in such a foul mood? He couldn't pin point it and that only made him even more mad.

"Report," he replied gruffly.

"We've news from Kyoto, sire. Prince Kenshin married Lady Tomoe three weeks ago, just before the diplomats set out." Amber eyes narrowed upon the messenger and the man actually trembled where he stood. The gaze suddenly snapped away, leaving the man in slumped relief. No man in all of Fujita would dare incur his wrath willingly. This Prince Kenshin must be one hell of a man to go against this king voluntarily. Either that or incredibly stupid.

"Ready the men, we march on Kyoto," he snarled. Men began to scramble to issue the orders. "You," he said, singling out a small page boy. The poor boy looked at though he was going to wet his pants. His duty was to obey. There was no way around it. If the king bade him come, he had to come.

But why did he have to be so scary about it?

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"So they are going to war?" Tokio whispered. Megumi nodded, holding one of her hands. Tokio released a ragged breath and looked toward the window. Even this high up in the castle she could hear the assemblage of men outside, the trumpets, the horses….the weapons.

"King Saitou is less than happy Kenshin married Tomoe," Megumi said softly.

"As right he should be! It's his half sister and Kenshin didn't even bother to ask for his blessing!" Tokio snapped. Megumi blinked in surprise. Tokio was defending her enemy?

"Like he would have agreed?" Megumi retorted. "They were enemies long before that."

"It's the honor, Meg. Think about it. First Kenshin killed the nobleman, then not only took the man's fiancée, but married her without even telling her only family! What the hell was he thinking!" Tokio demanded. Megumi visibly bristled.

"That nobleman attacked Kenshin! Kenshin didn't want to kill him! He even dropped his guard enough that the man got past him and scratched his cheek! Kenshin then took the man's fiancée in as a guest because the stupid woman got herself so drunk she passed out, hit her head and has virtually no memory of her country or anything before now! He PERSONALLY took responsibility for her and has always been at her side! Dammit, Tokio, the man is in love!" Tokio regarded her cousin with cool disdain.

"That does not make his actions right," she replied. Megumi's eyes narrowed.

"You're defending him," she accused. "You little traitor!"

Tokio's palm snaked out to slap her cousin across the face. It never connected. A firm grip around her wrist prevented any movement. Looking up she met the amber gaze of the king. He looked….amused?

"Just because your opinion differs does not mean you should force the other to yield," he said calmly.

"Wise words," Megumi grumbled. "How come you don't follow them?"

"Opinions and ones sister are two different matters. I let you visit your cousin, but obviously you have no concern for her condition," he said, looking down at the raven haired woman.

"A little argument isn't going to hurt her," Megumi retorted. "You spent a great deal of energy healing parts she could have easily healed with a little time."

Tokio looked between the two of them. Saitou had healed her? No wonder she felt great….if a bit fatigued. But didn't Healing take a tremendous amount of power?

"Out," Saitou said in a low voice. "Now."

To her credit, Megumi gathered her skirts in a dignified fashion and left the room, nose in the air, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm sorry," Tokio said quietly, turning her head back to the window. Her wrist was still in his grasp. She felt the bed sag as he sat upon the side next to her.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said. She did not have to ask what that meant. Tomorrow he'd be going to war.

"Just don't bring Kenshin's head in a basket or anything…." She said quietly. "That would be just plain disgusting."

She heard him chuckle behind her. An uncomfortable silence followed. Tokio didn't know what else to say.

Saitou was faced with something he'd never thought he'd ever face. Being unable to ask something of someone. He was a king, he ordered and people did whatever it was. But this was different. Orders were things to follow, but requests got better results. How did you request something of your enemy?

"Tokio," he said suddenly, nearly startling her. He rarely said her name. She pulled her gaze from the window to look at him. "Can you do something…while I am gone?" he asked, his voice almost strained. That piped her interest. King Saitou was asking something of her?

"It would seem….I owe you my life, correct?" Tokio asked. "I am in your debt. Ask what you will of me."

"I am….selfishly leading my army," he said with a small grin. "But the courtiers here would love every opportunity to create havoc without a firm hand."

"So you want me to run your court and make sure that you don't have a mess to come home to?" she asked, the corner of her mouth twisting upward. "That depends….do I have to wear a dress?"

Saitou frowned. Of all the times she had chosen to be childish. This was a serious matter. Had Okita been here he would have led the army or controlled the court. Now he had to resort to using this…child….well, young woman. This was hardly a child lying in his bed.

"Ok, I'll wear the damn dress. Stuffy traditionalist," she scowled. "But I want to be able to leave the castle." His eyebrows rose at that. Leave the castle?

"What makes you think I'd allow that?"

"You would have me manipulate the most devious of people for however long you decide to be gone, having to tip toe around treason accusations and assassination attempts and you begrudge me the ability to walk outside the castle walls? You know I haven't seen grass squished between my toes in over four months?"

"You want grass squashed between your toes?" he asked, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"I feel caged!" she protested.

"You are a prisoner," he reminded her.

"And yet you want me to run your court," she retorted. "What kind of king are you?"

"Woman, you are the only person I can trust," he snapped. Her eyes widened. So that was his reasoning? Now things made a bit more sense.

"I don't have that much experience with court. I'm not yet 17."

"I was fifteen when I ascended the throne," he replied. "You can only learn by experience. You'll be able to contact me and I want regular reports."

"Understood," she said with a nod, all traces of childlikeness departing. He gave a brief nod as if sealing the pact and slid off the side of the bed. Without another word he left the room.

Praying he had not made the biggest mistake of his life putting his court into the hands of a 16 year old girl.

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Another fun fact. Many royals were married at a rather young age. In the days of Elizabeth I of England it was not uncommon to marry a girl off when she hit 12-14. Imagine that...barely hitting puberty and already married. And were the boys the same age? Nope. Most men didn't get married until their twenties. Bet that was fun. And they wondered why royals never seemed to produce tons of children... They should have gotten a clue from Queen Victoria. She picked her husband and they had like a dozen kids! There was a time when not only did the sun never set on the British Empire, but she was related to every single European royal family in some manner, and had a daughter (or granddaughter, I don't remember which) married to the last Czar of Russia. By the way, I love fun filled facts so I think I'll keep adding them to the ends of chapters.


	9. A woman's touch

Wow...I check my email and get this..._REVIEW! _I was completely blown away. Trinity...I'm impressed you wrote so much... That is the record for longest review I've ever had. Wow. Thank you just doesn't seem enough. Uh...domo arigatou gozaimashita!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. School here had graduation (FYI schools in Japan start in April, end in March) so I was working my ass off with everyone else to make sure everything was perfect...then trying so hard not to cry when my 3rd year junior high kids left. So sad. I'm gonna miss them soooo much. Good kids...even the bad ones. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

**Chapter 9: A Woman's Touch**

"And Lord Koudan?" Tokio asked the small group of councilors before her in the throne room. She occupied a smaller throne next to Saitou's empty one. It had been empty for over a year.

"He retreated to his country estate," Lady Yura said with a yawn. "About time if you ask me." Several other young council members nodded their heads. Tokio frowned inwardly. More and more of the older councilors were…disappearing to their estates, leaving much younger and incompetent relatives to take their place.

Tokio didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

"May the council direct the Princess's attention to the drought damage?" Lord Hirata said loftily. Lord indeed, he was the second son of the true Lord Hirata who was at King Saitou's side as a trusted war councilman. If his son was half as trustworthy as his father Tokio wasn't about to give him an inch. Lord Hirata was intelligent…but also ambitious. As were most of the council members. Brave men went to war. Ambitious ones stayed behind to grovel for favors at the winner's feet.

"Many lands were damaged and crops are scarce," the young man continued. "Many of us have had to dip deep into our own pockets to save our lands at a high price and yet the army is still paying the same amount it previously agreed upon when crops were in abundance."

Oh Tokio saw right through that. However, the best way to handle these folk, she had learned, was to let them think they were manipulating her, then manipulate them in turn. It was a dangerous game. One the king sent her precious few pointers on. When he wrote at all. Tokio sent him weekly scrolls of everything going on. She was lucky if she got a quarterly reply.

"Oh my goodness, I hadn't thought of that," she feigned outright shock. "You are entirely right, we must do something immediately." Lord Hirata beamed as his rivals sneered at his sudden favor with the pretty, and single, princess.

"Quite right, your majesty. If prices were increased then we could restore our coffers and improve the land quality," he said with a smile she'd come to know meant he thought he was getting his way. Pity these nobles had no idea how easy they were to read.

"Oh good gracious no, I wasn't thinking of the land," she said. "Think of all the poor people starving because our army is taking all the food! Here's how we'll fix this. We are still in peaceful treaty with Edo right?" Various heads nodded, uncertain of what she was getting at. "Well, we obviously need more food and they have not only ready access to the sea, but their mountains are not in the rain shadow. So, we send to Edo for livestock and food. We can't have a population go hungry, can we?"

"But….your majesty…our coffers," Lord Hirata protested weakly, clearly outmaneuvered. Tokio smiled.

"You can't work the land with starving people, can you?" she said sweetly. He sat down, unable to protest more. He might have been willing to work starving people, but she would not. Too many of this kingdom's people were harshly suppressed by their class. A drought affected everyone, not just nobles and their purses. From the looks of Lord Hirata's silk jacket, he was not suffering as much as he protested.

"Well, that out of the way," Lady Yura said, standing. She was the eldest of the youngsters, barely hitting her thirties, but she was a shrew woman when it came to demands. Tokio suppressed a sigh. Dealing with Lady Yura always gave her a headache.

"Since the King is not here, we should at least discuss a topic he has long evaded." The other council members seemed to know instantly what she was talking about. Tokio was completely clueless. Yura did not leave her ignorant for long.

"You are quite right, Lady Yura," Lord Kigon piped up from the corner, his adolescent voice still changing. Sad how a boy of fifteen years was considered a council member. An easily swayed one too. Wherever Lady Yura went, Kigon followed.

"It is high time the king find a bride," Lady Yura said, her voice rising on the last word as emphasis. Other council members nodded their agreement or slammed a hand on the table. It seemed unanimous.

"I'm not sure what you expect me to do about it," Tokio said, dropping her nice, smiling exterior. Her voice had a deadly and icy edge to it. "You of all people should know very well King Saitou does what he wants, when he wants it and nothing you all say or do will change that."

"Nothing we say or do, correct, but perhaps a nudge in the right direction from a lady he obviously respects?" Lady Yura suggested.

"Then why don't you go talk to her?" Tokio spat back.

"We are."

Oh. Well she walked right in to that one. Tokio cursed her impatience and lack of foresight. She took a deep breath. She could answer them when she damn well felt like it.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Lord Asashi asked. He was one of the few older members left, a rock among the easily swayed youths surrounding him. He was very much a traditionalist and non-too-quietly disapproved of Tokio being in the position she was in, but he also disliked how the younger members kept trying to influence the princess in devious ways.

"Just that we pull up a list of possible brides," Lady Yura said, her pushy manner deflating somewhat. That had not been what was on her mind previously at all, but she would mind her tongue for now.

Tokio knew the woman was up to something. She also knew that she would have to go through the laws of Fujita tonight instead of sleeping. She would need to know how to get around selecting an applicant if Saitou wished to reject them. He could not do it outright or risk another war with another country, splitting the army and its resources in half, nor would he accept any old bimbo to become his Queen. And if Tokio let them bully him into a position he had to accept, he would never forgive her.

And that was something she could not allow so long as it was in her power to stop it.

"Fine, draw us up a list of potential candidates to go over and one week after everyone has received the list we shall discuss it. Does that meet with the council's approval?" Tokio asked, a hand rubbing her temple. Lady Yura had given her a headache. Damn that woman. She was grateful when they nodded their assent.

"What about-" someone started and Tokio held up a hand.

"It is 2 o'clock. We've been here for five hours. I am hungry and I have other things to attend to. I will see you all tomorrow," she said, standing which left no room for argument. How she longed to run from there!

'Idiots', she thought. 'No wonder Saitou is always in such a cranky mood. I'll turn into him before the harvest season is over!'

Saori was in her chamber when she arrived and gave her a sympathetic face.

"Vultures aren't they?" the head maid said. Tokio gave a weak smile and let the woman begin untying her dress, feeling better already as the heavy weight of the gown pooled at her feet. Next Saori went straight to the corset, knowing Tokio could barely wait to get out of it.

"They tried to bring up the topic of marriage," Tokio said calmly. "As if I am supposed to have any say in His marriage. I doubt even Okita had that sort of influence."

"You are right," Saori said with a small laugh. "When he first came to the throne the topic of marriage was brought up. His majesty told Lord Okita, I quote, 'Shove it up your ass'." Tokio looked back at the maid in shock. They burst into laughter only to be interrupted by a knock. Saori handed her a robe to put over her half loosened corset and state of undress.

"Come in." The guard opened the door and a page came in. Tanaka, if she remembered correctly. He smiled brightly, a good foot taller from the last time she'd seen him. God how those pages grew.

"There's an envoy from King Sagara in the ballroom awaiting you," he reported with a bow.

"An envoy?" Tokio said, surprised. "Sagara has already decided to remain neutral. Why would he send an envoy?"

"Only one way to find out," Saori said, pulling the robe off when the page left. Tokio exhaled in relief as the corset came off, allowing her to breath. Saori gave her a dubious look.

"Oh no. He said I only had to wear that think while running court. He didn't say anything about wearing it while receiving a diplomat. I'm going to go riding after this so they can just damn well meet me in my breeches."

"His majesty would not approve," Saori said lightly.

"I don't give a damn," Tokio cursed. "I'll even include it in the next letter."

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Tokio entered the great hall where the ball where supposed to be held. Tokio assumed it had balls at one time in its life because she'd never seen one there. Then again, King Saitou did not hit her as the dancing type. He certainly didn't like the sort of music dancing involved. He seemed to prefer very old, traditional, slow and mournful music to the gay, sprightly music people hopped around to. Not that she really blamed him. Dancing music really started to sound all the same after a while.

A rather familiar youth turned and faced her with a wide grin.

"Sanosuke?" she said, disbelieving. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Dad said to stay out of the war and since Kenshin is in the middle of it, I thought I'd visit the next best place." Tokio frowned. Since when did Prince Sanosuke ever leave Kyoto? It was amazing the boy hadn't found some way to tie himself to the country permanently.

Wait a second.

"You're here to see Megumi, aren't you?" she asked and was rewarded with his face suddenly turning red. Something on the floor suddenly seemed very interesting to him.

"I was….a little worried. How is she?"

"She's been here a year and NOW you show up?" Tokio asked.

"I had to work up the nerve to ask King Saitou permission. It's no secret he hates my guts."

"He said yes?"

"Not really….he said what went on in the castle was your business. So here I am," he grinned. Tokio raised an eyebrow at the cocky sixteen year old.

"What makes you think I'll let you stay?" she asked in an icy voice. His world immediately came to a crashing halt. He gave her a look a petty thief would give if he was told he was off for the gallows. Tokio tried to hold the serious glare….but it didn't stay for long.

"Oh alright, I suppose you can mooch off of us for a month or two. I can't promise Megumi will be happy to see you but…"

"You just leave that up to me," he said proudly. She hoped a self absorbed youth could bring Megumi out of her depressed daze. Her cousin rarely spoke anymore and spent many days just…..staring out the window. She would not even speak to Tokio. Perhaps Sano would be able to bring her out of her slump.

"Put him in the apartment near Lady Megumi," she told a guard. "Just remember, Sano, any funny business," she began, a dark gleam in her eye.

"I am not allowed to stick my nose in between Fujita and Kyoto," he said solemnly. "Nor do I want to jeopardize Megumi's life in any way. You have my word," he said and kissed her hand, winking at her as he left.

'Why do men DO that?' she thought. 'Weird, the whole lot of them.'

She thought of Saitou winking at her. It didn't fit. It was too…playful for the serious king. Sano was all play, 24/7. Saitou was the complete opposite.

"Oh for the man halfway in between," she said to herself.

"MY LADY!" a bright voice called out and Tokio's back stiffened.

It was Lord Hiraki, a twenty year old lordling that was convinced he was madly in love with her and that she, of course, reciprocated. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Tokio spent a good hour or two out of her day evading him. This time, however, it looked as though she was trapped. DAMMIT!

"You look radiant, darling," he said as he gallantly strode up, kissing her hand and clutching it to his chest. Tokio resisted the urge to slap him. Other women swooned around him. She could not for the life of her figure out why.

"Your majesty," a page broke in, handing her a scroll. He was breathless and covered in dirty. That could only mean one thing. "Message from the King."

She was saved! Tokio eagerly pulled herself from the lordling's grasp and took the scroll. This gave her the perfect excuse to escape. In fact, she would go riding while she was at it. Might as well read it in the privacy of the forest glen rather than in her stuffy room.

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Megumi looked down at the dagger in her hands. It seemed so easy so why couldn't she just do it? Day in and day out, locked in the castle of her enemy….it was more than she could bear. And Aizu…her beloved brother. Gone. And for what? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

'I wonder' she thought as tears slid down her cheeks. 'Will it hurt more or less than the ache in my heart?'

Sanosuke stepped into the room and his eyes widened in horror as he realized what she was about to do. Eyes closing, Megumi held the dagger up, obviously ready to plunge it into her own chest and end her life. It took him one second to comprehend and another to act.

Her eyes flew open, startled, as she felt a weight pull the knife from her. Looking up she met a sight she never counted on seeing. Prince Sanosuke, hand wrapped around the blade as blood ran down it, his eyes dark and serious.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" he demanded. "What does this solve, Kitsune? Huh? If you think I'll sit here and just let you make this mistake you got another thing coming woman!"

"Let go!" she cried. "I can't stand it anymore!" She struggled against the knife, pulling it more until she realized he wasn't letting go and she was savaging his hand. Her hands abruptly stopped, releasing the hold they'd had and falling to her sides. Sobs shook her body silently. Tossing the knife aside Sano wrapped his good arm around her, holding her close.

"Shhh. You're not alone, Kitsune. I'm here."

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Tokio sighed contently. Five guards were on horseback around the small glade she'd found on her multiple rides. The extremely docile gelding she rode was munching on grass, disinclined to leave his fellow herd mates. Her boots slipped off with relative ease, allowing her to wriggle her toes into the soft, lush grass. How she loved the woods.

Unrolling the scroll she frowned. For all the scroll was huge there was very little written on it. Perhaps he had planned on more and then changed his mind?

_Home in a week. I expect a full briefing when I get back. Make sure the board is set._

Tokio nearly jumped out of her skin. That was it? He was coming back? After a year? The war was nowhere near over as far as she'd heard. More like at a sort of stalemate. Great, and she had to get ready in how many days?

Wait a minute. It would have taken a week for this messenger to get to her…which meant-

Tokio froze as she realized the guards and her horse were no longer in the glade. A cold breeze swept in, causing her to shiver as her senses became over acute to every noise the forest made. What would have made her guards disappear.

Cold steel glazed under her chin.

Tokio reacted without thinking. She quickly rolled away, jumping to her feet and pulled out the double throwing knives she'd gotten from the armory, throwing one before even getting a good look at her opponent.

King Saitou gave her a very unamused look as his fingers deftly caught the knife aimed at his neck. Tokio dropped the other one in shock, a hand flying to her mouth in gaping surprise.

"Um…welcome home?" she said weakly.

"Indeed," he said harshly. "Stop playing around like a puppy," he growled, turning to exit the glade. A large warhorse was standing there, head tossing in annoyance as he mounted. Tokio looked around, but her horse was nowhere in sight. Sighing she resigned herself to her fate. Saitou looked down at her smugly, but frowned as she pass them, boots in hand as she walked barefoot. She had every intention of walking back to the palace. Little chit.

Tokio suppressed a squeal as hooves came thundering up behind her and a strong arm grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her up in front of him. She winced as she was forced to sit somewhat on the horse's neck in front of the saddle pommel as every stride dug into her back. How come every time someone else stuck her in a saddle it was a very uncomfortable experience?

"You could have just left my horse for me," she said grumpily. She suddenly found herself being swung around and before she could blink she was behind him, clutching the rear pommel of the saddle to stay on. It was a little more comfortable, even if she felt like she would fall off any second. How the hell had he done that?

Why did she get the feeling he was in a monstrously bad mood?

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Hmm, fun filled fact: Henry V of England decided he wanted a good chunk of France (something to do with the previous king being French or having French lands being owned by the English, I don't remember) so he went to war and battered the French so badly they signed a treaty to get him to stop. They also gave him the only French princess. Here's the kicker. He spoke very very little French. Like, to the extent of middle school intro French. "Hi, my name is Henry V, King of England." His wife (name slips my mind) spoke the equivalent amount of English. Well, as my mother always said, "Since when does sex involve vocal cords? Beyond screaming I mean." Yep, gotta love mom. Since Henry V had a couple of offsprings either they figured things out or some poor translator spent many a night overheated. Like translating for subtitles for a porn flick!


	10. Battle of Wills

You know...if I had an award for longest review EVER (like based on what I've SEEN, not just my own)...I think I'd have to say Trinity wins hands down. Wow. No, I don't mind if anyone writes Japanese in my reviews. Reviews are a way of expressing your opinion. If you wish to do so in another language, by all means be my guest. As for reading adult material...uh...what am I going to do? Stop you? Mom showed me Dances with Wolves when I was like 8. And we won't even go into the romance novel phase I had when I was...13. And then there's my mother's fantasy collection (takes up an entire wall and is primarily female authors)...which occasionally has R rated material.

No worries, Tanaka and Hiraki are mearly minor characters. I'm not going to turn this into a romance novel where the guy doubts the girl, they fight because one or the other or both thinks they are cheating...etc, etc, etc. BAH! This is mainly because of an article I saw about Marie-Antoinette...and I was looking for a storyline for the prequel to Dangerous Alliance. I've been pouring so much into this story...I feel guilty about Dangerous Alliance which was written as procrastination during my thesis writing. It took me less than a week to produce it...and it shows. It seems to have less depth. I'll have to go back and fix that sometime.

Sorry I didn't post this sooner. I actually had a day off so rather than sit in my house, I was visiting friends north of me. And reading a 479 page book. It's a hard draw on whether I prefer Mercedes Lackey (fantasy) or Janet Evanovich (murder mystery). So I bought both and amazon delivered earlier this week.

**Chapter 10: Battle of Wills**

"WHAT?" Tokio squeaked, nearly knocking over the Senryaku board on the table. Saitou had long since diverted his attention from the game.

"You heard me. I receive reports that my nobles are finding themselves replaced by younger, incompetent fools, forced into retirement in the countryside."

"They leave without so much as a by your leave!" Tokio retorted. "What am I supposed to do, drag them back here kicking and screaming? I'd rather have a hundred old farts too set in their ways than to have to spend five more minutes with that room full of peacocks!"

"And what of this Lord Hiraki?" he asked icily.

"What of him?" She was genuinely confused.

"Designs towards marriage to a wealthy family? Or is it just that you can manipulate him?"

Now Tokio was extremely confused. Manipulate Hiraki? Only if he'd go far far away and never bother her again! Marriage? Why would she want to get married?

"Slow down," she said, sitting back down. "Wherever you are is ten million leagues out of my understanding. What the devil are you talking about?"

"I am talking about you being influenced by young members of the court for their own twisted schemes." Oh. Well, that was blunt.

"And just when I have I been influenced by them?" she challenged. "As I recall I haven't signed a thing without your explicit permission. And I'm the one who gets a god damn headache from them everyday."

"Magic keeps that away," he said casually.

"Did you forget? I don't have any!" she snapped. "I am as plain and human as they come, oh mighty one. No magic, no experience, no ties. Nothing. I have absolutely nothing to lose or gain….except my life." She looked down at her board and glanced at his pieces, even though she could not see his side. "And perhaps this game….you've gotten good. Have you been practicing?"

"Yes. It's called war. Only this time the people are real," he said. Tokio sighed, her temper dieing down. He was obviously angry about something and it really didn't have anything to do with her.

"Can you for ten minutes aim your anger elsewhere? I'm not Okita. I can't absorb your vicious diatribes." Her eyes met his, pleading for him to yield. For a second he looked as if he would throw it back in her face. Then the harsh plains of his face softened, revealing a weary man.

"How is your cousin?" he asked, looking down at his board.

"Do you really care?" she asked, a corner of her mouth lifting in amusement. His lifted as well.

"No."

"Prince Sanosuke is here."

"I know."

"May he stay?" she asked.

"That moron? Whatever for?"

"For Megumi," she said quietly. "She's not been well….suicidal at times. He seems to care for her a great deal….and she won't push him away like she did me."

"Great good it does him. She's been rejecting him for years."

"They're only teenagers….as am I," she finished softly. Her shoulders sank; weary of the burden she'd been carrying. He felt like a beast. Princesses were supposed to be spoiled, coddled, paraded around and have excessive amounts of praise lavished upon them.

Not made a prisoner of war and forced to take over a country not their own with no previous experience.

"So what news have I missed since the last report?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. Tokio's stomach rumbled. One of his eyes peeked open as she looked up sheepishly. "First go fetch us dinner. I can't have you pass out from hunger halfway through a report."

Tokio hurried off to the dinning area where the servants were busy making preparations for a huge feast in their king's honor. Grabbing a large serving platter she pulled tons of food from all over onto it, rushing off before anyone could say anything.

"Guess we should start cleaning up," a servant said to Saori with a sigh. "I don't know why we bother to try."

"Marriage? Oh god, not again," Saitou said with a groan.

"They only let me out when I proposed a list be made of potential candidates and that all the council members go over it."

"That still doesn't buy me much time. You've put me between a rock and a hard place," he growled, pulling turkey off the bone. How he managed to eat neatly with his hands was something that never ceased to amaze her.

"But Fujita has strict marriage laws," Tokio said, jumping up and pulling down copies scribes had made for her earlier. "Look here. You can't marry anyone who is related within fifteen generations on either side of your family. At that rate you're probably related to half the country. You also can't marry anyone lower than the rank of duchess or daughter of such, the usual. Nobles hate it when peasants get one up on them. You can't marry anyone under the age of 18 unless you are also that young. And…..hmm, that's interesting."

"What?"

"You cannot marry a foreign woman if her country's laws would counteract yours. Guess that's to prevent a government split if the two countries ended up combined. Those are the major laws. There are various small additions and amendments. You can marry a woman of no wealth so long as her family can be traced to a noble one, legitimately or not. These are utterly fascinating!" she said, taking a chunk out of her drumstick as she began to absorb the information.

"Are you going to quote my own laws to me now?" he mocked.

"Give me a month or two," she replied in all seriousness. "I'm only on book 3."

Saitou shook his head in disbelief, finishing his meal. Maybe he wasn't in such a bad position. If there was a law that would get him out of a marriage she would find it. And probably recite half the book at him while she was at it.

That reminded him. Now that he was back he could continue to look through Kyoto's laws. For now he knew what she did not. The council's intent. For some reason they seemed to have gotten it into their heads that this prisoner princess would be the perfect Queen.

He briefly entertained the thought, glancing in her direction. She was bent over a scroll, eyes narrowed as she absently munched on a drumstick, her still dirty feet curled up on his rug. Hardly Queen material. She certainly wasn't entertaining the idea. Women who wanted something always presented themselves well. Dirty feet, eating with your hands and wiping them on your vest was not good presentation. Not to mention her attention had been easily diverted.

"Stop staring at me!" she demanded, looking up in annoyance. "Men!" she grumbled, bending back over her food.

Nope, definitely not an idea rolling around in her head. So just what did the council seek to gain by this? Or was it they disliked her so much they wanted another woman to oust her current power?

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"Why are you here?" Megumi asked Sano as they sat in the sunshine of the horse pasture. More than a dozen guards were around, ensuring she did not escape. He pulled her back to lean against his chest, warm arms wrapped around her.

"You need someone, Kitsune, whether you want to admit it or not. You can't just leave all of this bottled up. You can't go home, obviously, so I tried to bring some of home to you."

"What…took you so long?" she asked in a hushed whisper. He almost didn't hear it.

"My father ordered me home, demanding I stay out of the war. It took me four months to convince him to let me leave. He agreed only if I had King Saitou's royal permission, officially. So I wrote to him. He, of course, did not reply. So I wrote again. And again. I wrote every week for two months, then every day. After six months he finally sent me a reply that told me Tokio was in charge of his castle and he didn't give a damn. So here I am! Look, I never was able to get the ink from under my finger nails," he said, showing her his hand. Megumi sniffled. She was crying again. Sano held her close, wrapping his arms around her in a protective fashion. No harm would come to her while he had anything to say about it.

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Interesting. Very interesting.

Saitou was sitting in his bed, several candles burning on his nightstand as a great book of Kyoto law concerning royalty lay open in his lap.

_Royals taken by force shall not be compromised into marriage and subsequent offspring from such a coupling are to be eliminated._

Rather harsh on the poor girl. First raped, then a forced abortion. Kyoto didn't want its daughters to suffer kidnapping and forced alliances.

_In the event that a royal willingly couples with a suitably ranked individual and no other laws prohibit the union of the two, they shall be wed with or without the consent of either party's legal guardian(s). All children of the union are to be considered legitimate in both countries and may be considered suitable heirs to the throne._

So princesses that had little tumbles didn't just get to toss the poor noble overboard and get away scott free.

_All daughters of the king shall be spelled upon birth so as not to fall under the temptation of men. Loss of virginity or ascension to the throne will subsequently dissolve the spell._

Now that was an odd law. Keep your daughters ignorant so they don't go running off with the first courtier who catches their eye? It made sense, but at the same time made them incredibly naïve. It did explain Tokio's lack of knowledge in the department, that was for sure.

Saitou frowned, deep in thought. His council would, no doubt, be constantly pressuring him for an heir, which inevitably meant a queen. But who was a suitable candidate. It was a small list.

Lady Yura was at the top. He could safely say his family had absolutely no relation to her and she was a duchess in her own right, well over 18. He'd slit his throat before marrying her. The damn woman was grasping, overambitious, devious and downright deceitful. Not good Queen material. Good assassin material, yes, but not Queen.

Lord Kigon had a sister, the bright and overly charming young Midori. A girl as gentle as a lamb, as quiet as a whisper and as delicate as a cloud. She was also easily influenced by her younger brother and entirely too fixated on hunting. He'd be lucky if he could keep her off a horse even while she was pregnant.

Those were the only two women of rank he knew of within his own country. The princess of Edo was well under 18 and would be for years, not to mention she seemed very stubborn during her father's visit over a treaty. Last thing he needed was a stubborn foreign chit with as much baggage as she had. Unless the king remarried that princess had an entire kingdom attached to her marriage contract. Edo was a good ally and well off country, but the fact that they were the only boundary between the deadly demon infested lands of the Empire meant he was less than thrilled at taking up that responsibility. Besides, he didn't really like blue eyes.

Lady Megumi was a duchess…..and she would either try to murder or castrate him in his sleep. Not to mention Prince Sanosuke might do something drastic that would caused King Sagara to be forced to go to war against him. And the damn woman was entirely too emotional. Then there was the whole fact he killed her brother. Women tended to hold grudges about that sort of thing.

That left Tokio. Except she was only 17.

'Soon to be 18,' he reminded himself. 'Intelligent, without the baggage of an entire kingdom, competent…..'

'Whoa…wait a minute. Did I just admit someone was competent? I must be getting old.'

. She was just the right age. Trustworthy. Loyal. Competent. And perfectly willing to challenge him when he was being pig-headed and stubborn. From his reports it was obvious the people in general liked her….with the exception of the council. Meanwhile it would be the perfect revenge against Kenshin, marrying his step-sister. It seemed all too perfect. There layin the problem. It was too perfect. And that made him extremely cautious to make any sort of a decision. After all, would she even accept him?

Then again, according to her laws she would have to…as long as she was willing.

How did one seduce an ignorant woman?

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Fun fact: Did you know...ok, maybe I shouldn't start like that. Anyway, women during the Elizabethian age were sewen into their dresses...no, not attached at the skin, just instead of buttons etc. The Queen was sewen and unsewen every morning and night. And you thought you took a long time to get ready in the morning! Bathing...well, if it was warm enough and only a couple times a year. Hence why perfumed hankerchiefs were popular and sports than made one stinky were not. Once you stinky, you stinky for very long time.


	11. Stubborn Women Hold Their Own

Wow, reviewers have been so much more responsive on this site! And Trinity….dude, you blow me away with each review you write. THANKS A MILLION! As for others (child-of-draco, sexylucifer love that name, lolo popoki, Kenta Divina, Miburo Kid, and Keirin-Sama) thank you guys so much. Especially for multiple reviews. (Mind you, those were just the people on the first page of the reviews…I didn't copy everyone's names, sorry if anyone felt left out.)

As for reading material, yes, I am a HUGE Mercedes Lackey fan. Thanks to my wonderful mom, I have been reading her books since the tender age of 11. I started with Arrows of the Queen and was completely hooked. At that age the only books I found a bit….above what I wanted to read….were the Last Herald Mage trilogy. At that age I wasn't quite ready to handle homosexual relationships. I knew they existed…but it wasn't something my VA conservative mind wanted to think about too much. I picked them up years later and found it much more enjoyable.

At this point I have read every book Mercedes Lackey has written and a great deal of them that she has co-written in or submitted short stories to. Yeah, mom has an extensive fantasy library and we take books out of the public library so much that we've memorized our library card numbers. Mind you, I haven't seen the card since like middle school….and I STILL remember my 14 digit number. I wonder if I will still remember it when I get back from Japan (planning on being here 2-3 years). I've had said number for over 10 years. Amazing….

So why the extensive reading? Well, mom was an English major…specifically medieval and Anglo-Saxon concentrations. She has a wide variety of books she enjoys, but does tend to have a certain weakness for fantasy fiction written by women. It's a long list. At the young age of 11 I pretty much had a one track mind. I loved animals. Cats, dogs and horses being at the top of the list, but I wasn't too picky. So on a summer afternoon, while basking in boredom, I decided to raid my mother's extensive book collection. At one point I asked for her advice and got handed the Hobbit…which was fine as a story, but didn't quite satisfy my imagination and there was nothing to follow it. I was NOT ready to attempt Lord of the Rings. Considering I rarely finished the required reading English class handed out (I hated what we had to read…it was always so boring), I wasn't really looking to read lengthy novels.

And then I found Mercedes Lackey's books. Which had 1) a young looking girl on the cover (Arrows of the Queen) and 2) a big, pretty horsie. Yeah, that pretty much was all it took to gain my interest. And then the author kept it. I've been reading her ever since.

So how did I get into anime/manga? Well, you'll have to thank my sophomore college roommate and best friend for that (luv ya Tinie!). I managed to evade Ranma ½, Sailor Moon and Fushugi Yugi (sorry if that is misspelled) during high school. Then I was overdosed on caffeine one cold night and saw a manga book, Ranma ½, peaking from her shelf. Since we read pretty much the same stuff, I was curious. Read 17 volumes in one night….crawled back to my room around 7am. So you can thank her for getting me addicted to this series and more. And thus, my obsession came about. Now for the story.

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**Chapter 11: Stubborn Women Hold Their Own**

"Absolutely not," Saitou said over the board. Outside the rain beat upon the castle like war drums, forcing everyone to stay indoors. Tokio sat across from him, picking at the meal she'd picked up from the kitchen. She always brought him meals now. Otherwise the damn man wouldn't eat.

"Why not?" she asked and the golden eye shifted their gaze to meet hers. He was less than amused at being questioned but she was tired of being cooped up, told what to do and not doing much of anything. A seventeen year old girl only had so much patience.

"Women do not belong in war," he said curtly, his tone implying this was the end of the discussion. Any other day she may have just left it at that. Today, however, was not one of her more intelligent days.

"And yet you start wars over them," she commented. "So Tomoe and I are good enough to be used as political tools, manipulated by you men and your damn sense of honor, but god forbid we ever see a battle field. It must be nice to utilize double standards to your liking. Tell me, oh great king. Is it just women or do you enjoy treating all your subjects like stepping stones? Afraid the repercussions of your actions will soil your perfect hands? Or do you just use discontentment as a mask to hide the truth that you really don't give a damn about anyone or anything?"

Saitou regarded the woman before him with serious amusement. Not care for his people? Was she mad? Or just oblivious? Every waking moment he was caring for his people. That was why he'd left her in charge. She was the only one with half the passion he put into his country. She was the only one not in it for financial or political gain.

She was pissed about something. He was not going to rise to her bait. Not today anyway.

"Fucking rain," she cursed, looking out the window when he did not bother to answer her. Tokio didn't know why she wanted to get a rise out of him. Just for the pure selfish satisfaction that she could probably.

"Having Sano in this castle has not improved your tongue," he said calmly.

"What do you care about my tongue? The Council never hears it. They all think I'm some perfect little play thing of yours. Dancing to the tune of your strings."

Ah, so that was why she was mad. The council. Idiots, all of them. She knew that…so why did she care?

"You know what's really funny?" she asked, still looking out the window. "They think I have influence over you. Fools."

Saitou cracked a smile. At least she knew she didn't have influence over him. He valued her opinion, yes, but only because it often coincided with his own.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and the door swung open. A guard let a rather muddy young messenger into the regal suits. The poor boy stumbled, nearly falling. Tokio was up in a flash, catching him before he could hit the ground.

"Attack….on the border…." The young man gasped, water dripping off him in buckets. "Prince Kenshin….has taken…the trade city by force. All leaders….are dead."

Tokio paled, looking back at the King. Saitou didn't bat an eye, waving his hand to dismiss the poor boy. The guards stepped forward and hauled him away, presumably to a warm bath, dry clothes and food. The front of her clothes were soiled and wet from holding him up. Saitou gave her a brief glance, obvious annoyance at the dirt flickering in his eyes.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"You're not going to DO anything?"

"Not right now, no. Sit down," he ordered. When she did not do as he ordered he looked up from the board, his eyes locking with hers.

Fire burned in her eyes, the flashes of anger so easy to read across her face a newborn would have sensed it. For a women with no power she had an incredible amount of energy swirling around her. He watched as she clenched a fist. Was she going to attempt to hit him?

Tokio turned on her heel, walked out and slammed the door behind her, shaking the old walls. So he'd pissed her off had he? Perfect. And it was still before lunch.

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"Kenshin," a voice said, immediately waking the red head leaned against the wall. An unrolled futon lay beside him. Amber eyes blinked open and focused on Lord Aoshi, the General of his army. "A letter from your wife."

Kenshin sighed and took the folded paper from the taller man. Aoshi showed no reaction to who it was from or anything beyond just giving it to him. He was a deadly man…but had little interest in anything that didn't have a sharp and pointy edge.

"Sire!" a guard said from the doorway. Kenshin removed his finger from the unbroken seal, looking up. "There's news from Fujita's capital!"

That got him up. Stuffing the letter in his pocket Kenshin rose and made his way out into the room that was now the war council room. All his advisors and men were already surrounding it, all older, wiser and taller than he. How they managed to loyally follow a 15 year old boy was beyond him. Kenshin adjusted the sword at his hip, motioning for the report.

"Lady Megumi is being kept hostage. Prince Sanosuke has been allowed to stay as a guest by order of Princess Tokio." That raised a few eyebrows. Tokio had authority in Fujita? Wasn't she just a prisoner?

"Has he married our Princess without our consent?" one lord asked.

"Perhaps she was willing," another offered.

"If they had been married she would be Queen," Aoshi stated.

"What game is he playing at now?" Kenshin asked. "Tokio would not try to escape unless he tried to harm her in some way or forced her to break one of our laws."

"Hard to find that kind of honor in a woman," Aoshi observed. Kenshin frowned.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Perhaps he means to do what you did." Aoshi did not elaborate, but Kenshin knew of what he spoke. A hand went to the letter in his pocket. The letter from the woman he deeply loved. The half sister of his enemy.

"Tokio cannot marry him without Shishou's consent."

"Can she not?" the general asked.

Kenshin did not answer, his brow furrowed in thought. If Saitou married Tokio it would make things very tricky indeed. As the older sibling Hiko could, if he so chose, name Saitou heir. And Shishou did not tolerate fighting within the family, no matter how much you hated the other person. That was how Aoshi and Kenshin got along. Aoshi would have loved to kill Kenshin, but the fact that he was in the inner circle of the Court meant he and Kenshin had to lay their differences aside. No one dared piss off King Hiko.

"For now she is not married to him. We should not worry over what has not happened yet." Aoshi gave a brief nod of agreement and said nothing more.

"Will we be staying here for a while, sire?" a lord asked.

"Fujita has a month long rainy season. Unless you want to get stuck in the mud I would advise not traveling far," Kenshin commented with a light smile. The lords groaned. They were used to far drier weather. This rain was unbearable to many, the steady downpour turning streets into rivers and dirt floors to mud. It was no wonder there were large stones all over the place. How else did people make it from place to place within the town?

"Tomoe will not be visiting then," Aoshi commented, more stating than asking. Kenshin nodded sadly. He hated leaving his new wife alone at Kyoto. She did not thrive well alone. But the harshness of the battlefield was no place for a refined woman such as her. Tomoe would feint at the sight of blood. And god knows what she would think if she ever saw him come in off the battlefield, covered in it, and eyes glowing amber.

"Tokio….just what are you up to?" Kenshin said softly.

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"What do you mean she is gone?" Saitou asked, one hand stretched out on the throne as he regarded the troop before him with annoyance.

"The stable hands never saw her. No one is really out this time of year. They noticed the horse was missing around feeding time, all the tack gone as well."

Where would she have gone? Why? He knew she was mad, but mad enough to go out into the rainiest month of the year trying to travel on horseback? The girl was asking to be buried in mud till the dry season. If they ever found her.

"Well, no surprise," Lady Yura said happily. "We did give her surprising free rein for a prisoner. It was only a matter of time. May the Council turn His Majesty's attention to the document containing the list of eligible women?"

Saitou frowned. The document was before him, listing women and their ranks. Momentary panic internally gripped him. It was evident they intended to trap him into a marriage to one of these women. Funny how Lady Yura's name was not first, that would have been obvious, but it was on the first page, about halfway down. She thought she was so clever.

Where was that damn princess when he needed her? He didn't have time to go through all of these candidates! Hell, he already knew he wouldn't want the majority of them.

"Now, a few lords already objected to-" Lady Yura was cut off as King Saitou rose, effectively cutting off the meeting. "Your Highness!" she squeaked. "Where are you going?"

Saitou glared at her and left in a swirl of robes, never answering her question.

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Tokio felt bad having the horse out in this sort of weather. The complacent animal was less than happy at being dragged out of a warm dry stall to stand in the cold rain. But she had to get away.

Away from the Court. Away from the intrigues of the Council. Away from the gossip. Away from Him.

"Why do people want power?" she asked the horse. It didn't so much as bat an eye. "Is power that great a thing? Do they all hate each other that much?" Rain dropped from the trees onto the horse's head, causing it to snort and shake itself. Tokio pulled it up under a rather dense tree, dismounting. The stable would have her head for the condition she was putting the saddle in. But a saddle was replaceable. Sanity was not.

Tokio curled up next to the base of the tree, kicking off her boots. The rain was relentless and cold, but she wanted to feel it. The grass beneath her. It was a calm reminder of how real the land was. Being locked in a castle day in and day out made the simplest of things seem so….gratifying. Saitou would certainly never be caught with the grass under his feet.

Rain trickled down her forehead as she closed her eyes. Tokio heard the horse shift and come closer to her position, probably in an effort to move out of the rain more. Warm breath tickled her cheek and she crackled an eye open.

The horse was shoving its nose in her face, warm air blowing across her face as it sniffed her. Tokio gave a light laugh. Was this how normal people could live? Able to take pleasure in something so simple and trivial? She blew back into his nose and the horse jerked his head up, giving an indignant snort. Must have tickled.

She sat there all day, soaked but uncaring. The horse occasionally shifted, sometimes giving a great sigh as if he were exhausted, but did not make any move back to the stable, even as it began to grow dark which signaled the normal feeding time. Tokio was grateful for such a gentle animal. She doubted she would ever be able to get on anything more energetic after the accident. It was bad enough she froze like a rabbit on this one when his trot picked up.

"I shouldn't keep you out this long," she said to the animal, standing up. The horse's head suddenly flew up as his eyes began searching the vicinity for some unknown danger. Suddenly Tokio thought perhaps this was not the best of ideas. No one knew where she was. She had assumed no one else would be out in such foul weather. She reached for the horse's bridle, watching his nostrils flare in alarm. The gelding rolled his eyes, pulling on the reins gently. He began to move restlessly, turning in tight circles as she tried to calm him.

Tokio was no horse expert. She'd ridden enough, but had no idea what to do with a frightened animal. Unable to calm him enough to get on she decided that perhaps riding was not the best idea unless something truly dangerous popped out of the woods. Like a bear. She shivered at that thought. Did bear live in these woods? Would they be out in this weather? Animals were not as restricted by weather as humans having adapted to the elements long ago.

The horse was really frightened now. It caught wind of something and decided it no longer wanted to be held. Instinct told it to flee. Half rearing, it ripped the reins from her grasp, sending Tokio sprawling in the mud. She heard the splatter of mud as the horse took off, intent on the safety and security of its stall. Then she heard a growl.

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"Sire, I advise against this. We don't even know what direction she went in! Let the guards fan out and try to find her," a lord said as King Saitou mounted the large retired war horse. It was the only horse he would not risk breaking a leg on in the mud. The older horse reluctantly heeded his command to walk, head down in an effort to escape the rain beating down upon him.

"Get out of his way, you idiot," Saori hissed, having come down from the kitchen when she'd heard the news. "Ain't it obvious his majesty is going to do what he's going to do? We should be more worried about how they are going to return!"

The lord looked shocked that a servant, even if she was the head maid within the castle, would dare to talk to him that way. Between her and the rain he retreated into the dry stable overhang. Saitou gave Saori a brief look as he passed.

"OPEN THE GATE!" someone yelled. They were not looking at him though. The guard was focused on something outside the palace wall. The gate was pulled open on one side, allowing a great deal of room. Why were they opening the whole side? Any rider could get in and out the smaller opening on the side.

A mud splattered, sides heaving, terror stricken gelding came sliding in the gates as fast as his legs would let him. The horse fell to his knees, jumping back up and trotting over to the tack area where he suddenly stopped, legs trembling. It was evident his tendons were bowed from running in the mud, the strain too much on his muscles with that much force. What could have scared the horse that much?

Then Saitou noticed the horse was riderless. A stable boy confirmed what he already suspected as the saddle was ripped off the poor beast; its true color evident in the area the saddle had been on. It was Tokio's gelding. And it was frightened out of its wits. The calmest horse in the stable looked like the hounds of hell had been on his heels.

Where was Tokio?

Saori watched in amazement as the King stopped long enough to confirm who the missing rider was, then spurred his horse into a sloppy canter out of the already open gate, guards scrambling to follow. A slow smile spread over her face. So the king was a tad concerned about his missing princess? Somehow she doubted it was just for her head for strategy. The king, whether he would admit it or not, was quite attached to the princess.

"Just like a man," she mused. "Can't stand to know he doesn't have control over everything." A stable hand gave her a strange look as she laughed, walking slowly back into the castle.

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The war horse stumbled, but didn't fall as they went sliding through the mud. It was deep and the horse had to resort to outright jumping sometimes to get out of the deepest parts. Saitou's royal robes were covered in mud, the rain falling down upon him in a heavy sheet. Where the hell had she gone? The glade within the forest? She would have had to cross a creek and by now the creek was a raging river. Where would she have gone instead?

He pulled up sharply, peering into the gray mist the rain created. It was hard to see more than ten feet in front of him. Was he even going in the right direction? He couldn't even see the forest from here. Not that it would be easy to see anyway. The month of rain often dampened the green upon the trees, turning everything into a dull gray.

Something caught his eye and the horse snorted, tossing its head. A figure was coming toward them, making its careful way through the mud. The horse didn't like the smell of it though and half reared as he nudged it to move forward. No matter how much training an animal had, you could never make a prey animal as brave as a predatory one. As much as the horse fought him, though, he would not let it move away.

The figure came closer, stumbling again in the mud. He could almost make it out, although they were cloaked and covered in mud. Something about the way it walked though. Women walked that way. And only a woman unused to mud would walk in a fashion that suggested they did not have much experience in it.

Tokio stumbled again, one arm carefully holding the cloak around her chest. She heard a horse snort and looked up, seeing the most unlikely thing.

Saitou, sitting on a horse, breathless and covered in mud….still in the silken court robes. Amazingly he did not look mad. Not that he looked happy either. In fact, she couldn't think of a title for the look on his face. The war horse snorted, side stepping away from her as she neared, eyes wide in fear. Sheepishly she held open her cloak.

A black wolf cub covered in mud blinked back at the great king. It was the size of a large house cat, but so skinny its ribs were poking out. The horse shied again, only to be given a great kick to the side that suggested it not move again if it wanted to avoid confrontation.

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"I think it's funny," Tokio said as she leaned over the board. Saitou was wrapped in blankets, sitting propped up in his bed. "I'm the one out in the rain all day and you are the one who gets sick."

"Sick looking for you, brat," he snarled and then sneezed, ruining the effect. Tokio laughed. "Now I can't even polish my sword thanks to you. I'd probably sneeze and slice off my own finger." That made her laugh harder. A knock on the door interrupted and she got up to see what they wanted.

"Dinner for the king," a guard said. "And your…..hound, my lady." Tokio stifled a giggle. The wolf pup was hardly a hound, but the man had no idea what else to label it. She took the tray and closed the door, the pup obediently following her as it smelled the scent of food.

"I should order that thing killed," Saitou said with a sniffle.

"Nonsense. It's just a baby. Besides, it's just what I need."

"Why can't you just want a pony like a regular little girl?" he exasperated.

"I can't sleep with a pony!" she said sternly. "Oh look, soup broth. Open wide," she said, holding a spoon up to him. Saitou gave her an evil glare.

"I am not that sick, woman." Laughing she handed him the spoon and placed the tray on his bed. The pup she picked up, feeding a good portion of her meal to it. The pup eagerly ate, tail wagging profusely.

"Just why do you think you need a wolf cub?" he asked after downing some of the soup. He didn't want soup, but it was about all his throat could handle. Damn the girl for making him worried enough to leave the castle without a cloak or proper clothes.

"To keep me company," she said, picking it up and nuzzling its nose. The pup wiggled, annoyed at the interruption of its meal. "It gets lonely here."

'Lonely?' Saitou thought. Now there was a thought. There really was no one for her to talk to was there? When he was gone she had to keep herself distanced from all others. Megumi was a prisoner, Sano an idiot, the Council members were all power hungry vultures and the servants gossiped.

"If you train him properly you may keep him. Should he become aggressive, I will not hesitate to have him killed," he said, setting the soup aside. Tokio smiled, hugging her puppy.

"It's a she," she commented. Saitou looked at the pup who was struggling in its mistress's arms, trying to reach the tray of turkey cutlets.

"Just keep it out of my way," he growled, closing his eyes.

"Oh no you don't," she said. Half opening one eye he realized she was talking to him. "Part of the reason you got sick is cause you don't eat enough. You either eat something off this tray or finish that soup!" she ordered.

"Or you'll what?" he challenged.

"Tell the Council you agreed Lady Yura is the perfect wife," she said with a smile. "You won't be able to refute it until you are well, there will be uproar when you do and she'll make Council hearings a living hell for you for as long as she is on it." She crossed her arms, defying him to challenge her.

"Bitch," he snarled, reaching for the soup.

"Why, your majesty! Have you been hanging around Prince Sano?"

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Another fun filled fact (these are actually hard to come up with. I don't have tons of time to do research): Many princesses like Marie-Antoinette, were not only borderline literate (why bother when someone can read and write for you?) they often had limited education. Queen Elizabeth was an exception to this rule. Not only was she well educated in literature, being able to read several ancient languages including Latin and Greek, she also studied geography, mathematics, philosophy, navigation and many other subjects normally reserved for upper-class or merchants (men…not women).

Let's compare notes here. Elizabeth: highly educated, intelligent, one of the most beloved monarchs of England and a formidable woman in history…although she never married and was known as the "Virgin Queen". However, she was greatly loved by her people. Marie-Antoinette: Poorly educated, spoiled, forced into an arranged marriage to a king, moved to a country she did not know, and beheaded in her prime. If that doesn't make you think twice about getting a higher education, I don't know what will. On the down side Elizabeth was the Virgin Queen (whether that's true or not, who knows, she may have had a tryst or two we didn't know about) while Marie-Antoinette was married...of course her husband had a little problem (not impotency, he actually had a problem that required surgery. Something about him being unable to ejaculate properly until the whole was made larger.) that didn't get fixed until a couple of years into their marriage. Talk about awkward! I think I'd rather deal with the virginity myself….


	12. Avoiding Manipulation

**Chapter 12: Avoiding Manipulation**

"You are supposed to follow _Her_ around, not _me_," Saitou said, looking down at the wolf pup. It merely wagged its tail happily at him as its head cocked sideways. The creature's attention was soon diverted, glancing at the doorway. 'Useful,' Saitou thought as a knock followed.

"Enter."

The guard opened the door and in walked a full court attired princess, looking none too amused. He could see the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes. Too much strain and not enough sleep. It was a common result of royal responsibility. One he knew all too well. Bowing, the guard closed the door behind her.

"The council says since you are conscious, they demand you hold the session."

"The council be damned," Saitou growled as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The wolf pup was wagging its tail wildly, looking back and forth between them.

"I don't think you want to do that," she warned.

"And why the hell not? I'm exhausted, cold and in no shape to put up with their stupidity," he snapped.

"Because they are voting on your future wife today. I can't refute them all…I tried. There are five women on that list you have no legal ability to reject. They won't accept my motion to postpone. Lady Yura has more than the majority on her side and there's nothing I can do about it because to them I'm still the enemy!" Tokio threw up her hands, dropping to the floor in a flood of silken skirts. She once again looked like the uncertain girl, alone and afraid. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I failed you."

Saitou was angry. Hell, anger wasn't strong enough for the emotion building under his carefully constructed mask. His fist clenched the blankets around him, joints popping in the effort. The wolf pup gave a whimper and crawled toward its mistress, head bowed in confusion.

"GUARD!" he bellowed. The doors flew open, weapons ready for anything…only to find their king perfectly fine. Fine, that is, except for the deadly look in his eyes and the crumpled princess on the floor. What the hell was going on?

"Tell the council the session for today will be held here, in my chambers. The member who disobeys is to be thrown into the dungeon until further notice. Have I made myself clear?" he asked. Nodding quickly, the two men nearly fell over themselves to get out of the room and relay the orders.

"Tokio, have Saori bring in chairs…uncomfortable ones. And change into something you can sit on the floor in."

"But shouldn't I-"

"No, the council needs to stop treating you like a glorified messenger. And hand me my sword before you go."

Tokio did as she was instructed, giving him a full court curtsy before closing the bed chamber doors behind her. The king obviously had a plan….what the hell was it? He had to be a genius to get himself out of the mess she hadn't been able to stop.

"Why the hell is the court so concerned over such petty matters? Aren't their people more important than seeing the king attached to some useless nobleman's daughter?" As she walked down the hall she realized something was missing. Stopping just outside the head maid's rooms, Tokio's face turned into a scowl.

Saori was quite shocked and amused as she opened the door to a rather annoyed looking princess.

"That damn man has stolen my dog!"

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"We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused," Lady Yura soothed as the council arranged themselves in the royal bedroom. Saitou was propped up on pillows, a page at one side of the bed with several scrolls, and guards at the foot. He looked up from documents he was reading, his impassive face regarding the silver tongued woman with disdain.

"If you were truly sorry you wouldn't be creating such an annoying disturbance." Lady Yura held her tongue, smiling awkwardly as she looked around. Council members shifted uncomfortably, the small wooden chairs not to their liking. They would have preferred the plush cushions of their council chairs in the court room, but this certainly was better than anything the dungeon had to offer.

"If we are all here, let's begin-" Lady Yura began, only to be cut off.

"We are not all here, so hold your tongue woman," Saitou ordered.

"I don't under-" the woman sputtered as the doors behind her opened. In walked a rather refreshed looking princess…dressed in simple breeches, shirt and vest. Her hair was still bound in the coronet, but much of it had been let loose, tumbling down her back in waves of deep brown. She had to be the most amusing walking contradiction as she stopped before the bed and bowed, not curtsied, before the king. Saitou looked down at the wolf cub occupying the space he'd meant for the princess.

"Up," he said to the wolf and patted the bed beside him. The wolf needed no more prompting and hurled itself onto the bed, circling three times before plopping down next to the king with a satisfied grunt. He watched with satisfaction as council members' jaws dropped. "Cushion," Saitou ordered, pointing where the dog had been. The page boy quickly took a large, plush pillow and placed it on the floor by the bed. Saitou's eyes flickered to Tokio's, then the cushion. Without a word she obeyed, sitting upon it and leaning back against the large bed.

This is even better than those plushy council chairs!

"Hurry up," Saitou said gruffly. "If you dare make this more than an hour I'll find other less annoying nobles to give your lands to."

"Then we shall move straight to the matter which requires your utmost attention," Lord Hironi said quickly before Lady Yura could object. "The council has reviewed and revised the list of eligible bride candidates."

"I can personally vouch for the Lady Natsuki," Lord Furokawa interjected. "She is a gentle woman with only the good of the country in mind."

"And she just happens to be closely related to you," Lady Yura said venomously.

"At least I did not have the audacity to put myself on the list," Furokawa retorted.

"I can safely say I would have rejected you, Furokawa," Saitou said dryly as a few other council members chuckled. "Stop squabbling, all of you. Not a damn thing you say is going to make any difference in the woman I pick. Tokio, have you anything to add to this annoying monstrosity?" he asked.

Council members gasped. Not only was he allowing her to attend in improper attire, he was seeking her advice before the entire council AND referred to her by only her name, no title before it.

"Lady Natsuki is only 12…which technically means you'd only be betrothed. And of course she'd gentle and sweet….she hasn't even hit the rebellious years of her life and she's only lived in a nunnery. The poor girl would probably die of fright sitting before this council. The third candidate is rumored to be secretly engaged to a lesser noble. Her father seems to be using the man as a backup in case you reject her. Should you marry her, the lesser noble may protest. He's one of the leaders of a rather questionable group of young lords who seem to always be around during riots, but are strangely never charged. Those that were charged end up mysteriously acquitted and the law enforcers in question disappear or meet with rather unfortunate events."

"Lord Nakagoma?" Saitou asked, seeing this lord had suggested the woman. The lord was fairly pale at this point.

"I…had…not heard…such reports," the lord said quietly. "Perhaps it would be best to remove the lady in question."

"I think that's the wisest idea I've heard from you in a while," Saitou said none too kindly. "You may continue, Tokio."

"Lastly, Lady Yura. You are related to the King's mother three generations back. According to law, you can't be eligible."

"I am NOT related," the lady said indignantly. "My family has never been connected directly the royal family."

"Oh yes it is," Tokio said, shuffling through some documents. "According to the report of a Lord General Saisou, your grandmother was, for two years, a concubine under a Lord Nobuna. During that time she had a son, which is your father."

"My grandfather accepted my father as his son and heir. It is no secret my grandmother was forced to stay with Lord Nobuna, but that does not make her offspring his! My grandfather was a knight in his castle before the man was overthrown."

"Ah, but you see, according to Article 56, section 5, paragraph 3, line 4, any plausible doubt that you may be related to the royal family is cause enough to reject you. Also, in case you didn't know, a female council member who holds a seat for more than 3 years is also ineligible. So you are doubly rejected," Tokio finished with a smile. "Sorry."

Lady Yura could say nothing as she sat there, glaring at the presumptuous princess before her. Murder was plainly written in her eyes. The wolf cub gave a low growl from the bed at the woman, causing several people to jump in alarm.

"Careful," Saitou warned. "Wolves aren't predictable creatures."

Saitou almost cracked a smile as he crossed the woman off the list before him, two lines running through her name.

"Then there are still two ladies," Lord Venron, a normally quiet lord, pointed out.

Saitou looked at the women in question with a frown. He knew little of them, but knowing the political powers behind them he was likely to face a great deal of family pressure trying to manipulate things from under him with their own pawn Queen. Did they really think him that foolish? He could see it as plain as day even with the fever his body was running.

"I will announce my decision next week," he said, breaking the long silence as the entire council looked to him for the answer. Many looked as though they were going to complain. "Have the two women in question presented to me at court two days from now," he said, hiding the victorious smile. In order to bring the women here they'd have to be gated in, which cost a pretty penny. "Half an hour is gone. You have half an hour to bring any other 'important' business to my attention."

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Saori came in with four other maids to clear the chairs from the king's bedchamber. The king was reading documents while absently petting the wolf cub's head. The pup looked all too happy about being utterly spoiled laying there on the royal bed. How such a creature was so trusting of humans so fast was beyond her.

The sight that shocked her more was the sleeping princess. Tucked at the side of the king's bed, sitting upon a silken pillow, she was propped up against the side of the raised bed, eyes closed and lips barely parted in silent sleep.

"Just leave her there," Saitou said softly. "The damn council has been hounding her like the vultures they are. If she's in her rooms, they'll only find some excuse to bother her."

"She takes too much on herself, sire," Saori said as the maids left with the chairs. No one knew how the king let her talk to him in private. Then again, Saori had changed his diapers many years ago. Hard to intimidate a woman who cleaned up after you when you still wet the bed.

"Welcome to royalty," he answered dryly. "I sure she prefers it to the dungeon."

"She's still very young," Saori argued. "And wasn't schooled from birth to rule. She was schooled to be a political tool, not a political manipulator."

"With the war on my hands, she's the only one who can run this country without throwing it into complete chaos. If Okita were still here I would not place such a burden on her shoulders."

"But sire-," Saori began, only to be cut off as the doors to the bedchamber opened and a page boy came in, important message in hand. He quickly deposited it in the king's hands and all but bolted out of the room, door slamming behind him. Tokio groaned at the noise, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she tried to orient herself.

"Damn fool," the king muttered as he opened the parchment. "I have yet to punish a messenger."

"You expect a boy of eleven years to know that? He probably hears stories of how you behead men before breakfast," Saori commented dryly.

"That was only once," Saitou replied, his eyes flicking down the parchment.

"Saori? Good morning," Tokio said sleepily.

"Actually, it's about mid-evening, my lady."

"Oh…sorry."

Saori's eyes widened, focused on the bed above her. Curious, Tokio looked up; blinking the sleep from her eyes to see what had the head maid so startled. She suddenly wished she hadn't.

Rage was evident on Saitou's face, murder in his eyes and the parchment within his grasp was crumpled and smoke rose from his hand. Amber eyes were flashing brightly and the glass beside the bed exploded. The wolf cub whimpered and hurled itself off the bed, ducking under the nearest table in sheer terror. The entire room seemed to be filled with a dangerous invisible wind, power swirling through the chambers.

"Saori?" Tokio asked, slightly afraid.

"Just get up and slowly walk to the door. There's no reasoning with him when he's in this state."

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She was married.

Saitou felt the power within him surge again as his anger fueled it. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself.

Married. To the enemy. Tomoe had gone and married the very man who killed her fiancée Akira. Prince Kenshin. The very man he was trying to kill. The very man who haunted small children's dreams with his golden eyes and red hair.

"What the hell where you thinking?" Saitou growled to himself. "Dammit woman, Akira loved you! And this is how you repay him?"

The crumpled parchment bore Tomoe's seal, written in her hand. She was informing him, her king, that she had married Prince Kenshin of Kyoto. Married him and was now happily expecting a child. There was no mention of Akira or of her desire to come home. He could feel the magic within the document, proof that she had not been forced to write such a thing. No, she had written this willingly…and happily. Probably of her own free will.

What the hell was the fucking woman thinking?

'Okita would have understood,' he thought with a sigh. 'He would have understood why women did such stupid things.' Now he was fighting his half-brother in law. He wanted to kill his in-laws. Well, all except their princess. She seemed to be the only worthless one of the lot of them.

Tokio.

For a woman of such few years she possessed an amazing amount of strength considering she lacked the magic to back it. Although a political prisoner, she never once tried to manipulate her way back home or give aid to her home country. Her loyalty was only to those who in turn gave her trust and loyalty. Fujita.

"This war is becoming too costly," he said to himself, drawing his attention away from the princess. She occupied his time too much of late.

Reports of the countryside lay strewed all over his bed, the older ones piled above the newer ones and he strived to catch up with what had been happening in his lands. Tokio had kept it from crumbling, but the war was taking its toll on the land. Men who had gone off to war for him were sorely missed during the harvest. The exceptionally bad rainy season was leaving many towns damaged by mudslides, floods and washed away crops. The council had done little to help them, although there wasn't really much that could be done until the rains stopped.

And trying to manipulate weather with magic was asking for trouble.

Saitou gave a sigh and looked out the window. Pity the wolf cub had left with the women. It was actually quite…nice…to have the creature around. Sitting in bed certainly was damn boring. 'Clean sword,' he thought. 'That'll keep me sane.'

The sleek weapon easily slid out of the well worn sheath, it's dull steel shining back at him. Small chips were along the blade where it had taken the life of others or saved his own. It needed to be smoothed, sharpened and polished. Saitou trusted no one to do as good a job as him.

The man who let another care for his weapon should not be surprised when it fails.

The cleaning equipment was in the drawer by his bed, always within reach. Carefully opening it, he pulled out the cleaning cloths and various sharpening stones and oils. Laying them carefully around the bed, he pushed scrolls out of the way. Sitting up, the sword lay unmoving in his lap. Picking up the edge of the blade, he ran it along the oiled stone, sharp side sliding along it in a slow, relaxing manner. Already the tension was leaving his shoulders.

A violent sneeze disrupted his routine, sending the sword scrapping off the stone and into his thumb. Biting back a curse, he stuck the injured finger in his mouth and glared down at the sword. Dammit if sword polish didn't taste horrid.

The door opened carefully and Tokio came in behind a guard with a tray of what looked like dinner.

"The cook made roast duck and-" she began, stopping when she saw the sight before her. Setting the tray down she gave a sigh. "Did you cut the whole appendage off or just slice it open?" she asked sarcastically. "You could have someone else do that you know."

"And have them do a poor job on something my life may depend on? I think not," he said. "Take the tray away, I'm not hungry."

"Too bad, cause you are going to eat," she replied happily. "And I'll take care of the sword."

"Woman, I-"

"You eat or I tell Lady Yura you'd prefer her company for the evening. She'd probably convince herself you would change the laws so she could be Queen."

"Anyone ever tell you that you are a manipulative brat?" he snapped, picking up the platter of roast duck. It was actually quite good and his stomach gave him away with a deep growl.

"If it gets you to eat," she said with a smile and picked up the sword.

"Just leave it."

"Honestly, you obviously want it clean enough to risk the safety of your hands," she said, sitting down on the floor beside the bed. "If Kenshin and Aoshi trusted me enough to clean their blades, I think you can safely say I know what I'm doing."

"They trusted you with their swords?" he asked, incredulously.

"Well, truth be told, the first time Aoshi had both hands broken and couldn't pick anything up…so he really had no choice in the matter, but after that if he was too busy he'd let me clean his kodachi. Damn tricky things too cause they have to be perfectly balanced with each other in order to be most effective. Kenshin's katana was much easier."

Her hands moved over the blade, careful of its dangerous edge. She had no experience using a sword, he could tell that, but her fingers were not unused to handling one. Smoothing the cleaning cloth down it, she then held it across her knee, pulling the sharp edge across the oiled stone with gentle ease. The sound of metal scrapping oiled stone resonated through the chamber, the familiar noise soothing the tension from his body. Neither spoke a word as he ate, watching her clean the old family sword, hand crafted from a master swords smith who was no longer among the living.

Saitou's mind drifted as he watched her. It was a strange thing, to see a woman polish his sword. Why he even let her touch it was beyond him. How did she instill such trust within him? He honestly didn't thing she'd ever defy him…even though she now had a weapon she could easily threaten him with.

Small hands gently grasped the hilt as her other hand closed the cleaning cloth around the blade, carefully wiping every last bit of excess oil from the now sharpened sword. It glistened in the candle light, reflecting her determined face up at him. Testing the point with a single sheet of paper, Tokio happily looked at the sword, running delicate fingers across the engravings.

It had to be the most erotic thing he'd ever seen in his life.

If he could have, Saitou would have beat himself right there. Here he was, bedridden, and getting turned on by a woman nearly half his age cleaning his sword. And not just any woman. His prisoner and the close relative of his enemy.

"There, all done," she said happily and looked up, only to have her breath catch in her throat.

Those amber eyes were focused on her, but not in anger or amusement. It was…something she'd never seen before. It was almost as if he'd never seen her before…but not quite. She had no idea what the emotion meant…but it made her heart beat faster and her whole body tingle. There eyes remained locked like that for some time…just staring at one another.

"So…what was the…bad news," Tokio stammered as she tried to pull her gaze from his, finding it rather difficult to breath all of a sudden.

The amber eyes released her, flickering to the documents on his bed and snapping the tension that had been there. Tokio released a breath she had not realized she'd been holding.

"My sister married your brother," he said calmly. "and I grow weary of this war."

"So stop fighting," she said. "It'd be nice to have everyone home again."

"I cannot just stop a war on my whim. Lords still seek vengeance and your brother has wreaked havoc on parts of my lands that I cannot simply give up."

"What about a treaty?" Tokio asked, handing the now clean sword back to him. He carefully slid the weapon back in its sheath until it clicked in place.

"There is no reason for your brother to sign it. Right now I have little to offer him."

"Does my father know you and Tomoe are related?" Amber eyes met hers, narrowing only a fraction.

"What would that matter?"

"My father hates family fighting. That's why Aoshi and Kenshin haven't killed each other. As a relative, no matter how much my father may dislike you, if you wish to cease fighting he will see that it stops."

"My fight is with your brother, not your father."

"Yes, but my father rules my brother. He controls everything in Kyoto, especially Kenshin."

The solution before him seemed all too simple.

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So, what will Saitou do for political advantage? Hmmm. I apologize for not updating before. I got caught up in another story and my busy busy job. Teaching English in Japan leaves few hours to ones self unfortunately, so I don't get much time to type up stories. Anyway, I was on spring break in Kyoto last week so haven't been home to stick stuff online...and it's the beginning of the school year here in Japan, so lots to do!

And then there's the fact I have a new pet in the form of a baby sugar glider. Soooo cuuuuute!

Royal facts: King George IV had several royal problems. One, he'd married a Roman catholic (while prince regent) and technically could not inherit the throne that way…so he conveniently "forgot" about her and married Caroline…who turned out even worse. He, unfortunately, did not have the luck of Henry VIII and was not able to divorce her, but did keep her from becoming Queen. Funnily enough, it was his father and mistress (yeah…go figure) who had urged him to marry her. They actually did consummate the relationship…at least once, and had a daughter who later died. Not surprisingly, he drank himself through life.

The daughter of the Duke of Kent, little Victoria was among the next in line for the throne. Her father died when she was only 8 months old and her mother was so paranoid about possible political assassinations that Victoria wasn't even allowed to walk up or down stairs without someone holding her hand. Talk about over protective! When George IV died, his brother William held the throne for a whopping 7 years…I guess the job proved to be too stressful for the old man. As a result, Queen Victoria assumed the throne at the tender age of 18…having already experienced many people's attempts to manipulate her.

Now Victoria married her first cousin, Albert, when she was 19…wow was that close. She was one lucky woman, cause unlike many past royal couples, they not only tolerated one another, they actually liked each other! As a result, they had nine kids. Now, nine kids is at least 81 months of pregnancy (that's a little under 7 years) and then you take into account that obviously there is a bit of time in between each kid….Yeah, Albert pretty much ran the country in all but name (England didn't let him be king). He must have been a nice chap cause he didn't seem to mind. Unfortunately he died, leaving Victoria to reign alone for many years afterwards.

Now, for the amusing fact. Victoria was already related to the German royal family through her mother, and obviously the English royal family through her dad. Her oldest daughter married Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and one offspring from that pair married into the Greek royal family. Her first son married a princess of Denmark and her second daughter was the mother of Alix, last Tsarina of Russia. Her second son's daughter married the crown prince of Romania, another son married a princess of Prussia, another daughter married some other prince…Austrian I think, and her last daughter married Prince Henry of Battenburg; they had a daughter who later became Queen of Spain. Man, the only royal families I don't see are the ones from France or Monaco….but since some of the princes/princesses they married into don't necessarily have their country name attached….and some of those European names are pretty confusing, I think it's safe to say at some point Victoria was related to just about EVERYONE in power.

Except the little ol' U.S., China and Japan (I think Meiji was still underway). Yes, I know there were other royal families of smaller countries, but they didn't really count as world powers. Technically China and Japan don't count as world powers at this time either. So WWI was kind of one big family fight, ne? Scary thought.


	13. Breaking Naivety

NC-17 material….you've been warned. Opps...forgot to post this a while back. Uh...don't kill me? Ch 14 to follow soon.

**Chapter 13: Breaking Naivety**

"At the risk of you sending me to the block," Saori said tentatively. "You do know what you are doing…right? This isn't just a spur of the moment decision as a result of ….your sister, is it?"

Saitou looked up from the table he was bent over. Various large books and scrolls were sprawled all over it, papers and plans put into hap hazard piles. Saori steadied herself as she focused her gaze on the quill in his hands, unable to meet his eyes.

"This was the last bit of advice Okita ever gave me. You could say it's been on my mind since then, but I've only been seriously considering it since I came back."

Releasing a raged breath she had not realized she was holding, Saori bowed her head.

"I trust I can assume your discretion upon the matter," the king said, catching her gaze and giving her a look with enough power to actually cause the woman to take a half step back.

"As much as you assumed my discretion concerning the care of Lord Okita," she responded, head high. "I don't tolerate palace gossip anymore than you do, sire. And I certainly never start it…unless otherwise instructed."

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"See that the council members and other members of the court are otherwise, safely, preoccupied. I will not take kindly to any interruptions."

"I can imagine," she replied, the side of her mouth quirking in amusement at the thought. Somehow, even if a God stumbled upon the king…mid… way through his plan, it would probably be the last sight the poor fool would see.

"I think a royal hunt…minus the busy king and horse shy princess is in order, don't you?"

Saitou frowned a bit.

"I'd hate to miss a hunt," he grumbled.

"Still wanting it all with icing on top?" she teased, bringing back long buried childhood stupidities. "It is a well known fact you are behind in affairs of state. As such, everyone will be cramming to bring back the biggest beast in an effort to gain your attention."

"And Lady Yura?" he asked. "She hates hunting."

"Will be conveniently sidelined with matters of her estate."

"I didn't know her estate was having problems."

"It isn't…but that's not what she'll think."

"Saori, you're brilliant," he said with a chuckle.

"I had to survive your childhood, of course I am. But let me make something perfectly clean, your royal highness." His eyebrows rose at the tone in her voice. It was the same tone she'd used when he was much younger…and usually about to do something she did not approve of. "If you hurt her, dungeons be damned, I'll turn you over my knee and spank you in front of the entire court!"

Saitou let out a low chuckle as the stubborn woman left. She had guts, he'd give her that. And she had survived him as a kid, spoiled princely brat and all. He had no doubt she would make good of her threat.

"This entire palace's language has certainly gone downhill since Sano graced us with his presence."

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Tokio watched the lords and ladies assemble for the royal hunt…which surprisingly actually had no royals attending it. People talked of nothing else except why the king himself, a great lover of the hunt, was not attending. Some thought he was still too weak from his recent illness, but too proud to admit it. Others thought he just wanted them out of the castle. A few thought he was up to something and wanted to stay behind…but were going along anyway on the chance they were wrong.

The servants would gossip about it at dinner time anyway.

'Fools,' Tokio thought. 'They don't realize the pure time and energy that goes into ruling a country well. Hundreds of issues have to be addressed, each just as important whether it's one person or a hundred.'

"You might want to take a good stroll in that sunshine," Saori commented, appearing at her side. The older woman watched the mayhem of the hunt assembly with a funny little smile…as if she knew the punch line of some great joke. The princess was like an open book, happiness and energy radiating off her youthful face. She was the very embodiment of the sunny weather. "The rain isn't gone yet, just let up for a day. Go burn off some energy for a bit. The king would like to see you in an hour."

A slow smile spread across Tokio's face, eyes twinkling in merriment at the older woman's words. Without another word she went sprinting off, the wolf pup at her heels. A tender smile touched Saori's face as the pup ran into the back of the princess, sending them both tumbling across the still damp and muddy grass.

So innocent. Very soon, that would be gone.

'Why is it they always seem so young when the time comes for them to grow up?' she thought to herself.

Across the field Tokio attempted to stand, the pup knocking her over again. Mud and grass were all over her clothes, rendering them a lost cause for the laundresses.

'Oh…he's not going to like how dirty she comes back…oh well. He didn't tell me to wash her. That's his problem,' she thought smugly. 'He could use a little dirty under his nails anyway.'

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"You wanted to see me?" Tokio asked, entering the king's open doorway. He was, unsurprisingly, bent over what seemed to be an endless stack of reports. He was doing his usual habit of reading while scrawling notes along other parchment. How he kept it all straight was beyond her. He didn't look up from the report, but motioned for her to come in. Still energetic from her short romp outside, Tokio happily bound over to the window, pushing it open to let the fresh air in. Looking behind her, she happily noted the gentle breeze was not going to upset the mess of papers.

He might have her head for that.

Saitou finished writing and set down the quill, stretching his cramped fingers. Gods he hated parts of being a king…but there wasn't a single soul he'd hand his kingdom over to. Saori claimed he was a control freak. He preferred thinking everyone else was merely less qualified for the task.

Tokio was standing by his window, her eyes bright and shinning with excitement as she looked out below.

"Pity you don't have a bigger window. We could probably see the hunt off if you did," she commented, not even glancing his way. If she had, she would have seen the half smile that graced his face for a brief moment. She'd gotten used to not interrupting him during his work and knew him well enough to know the moment he was done.

"You say that now, but in the dead of winter a big window makes for a cold room."

"I suppose this is the lesser of two evils," she said with a dejected sigh and closed the window, turning to face him.

It was then Saitou noted the blades of grass sticking out of her hair…and multitude of mud stains upon her clothes. Eyebrows drew together in a light frown.

"It's just dirt," she said dryly. "Not like it's going to jump out and kill you. I didn't know a bath was required for whatever you had in mind."

Tokio relaxed when her slight impertinence was met with a low chuckle.

But nothing prepared her for the shock that followed.

As the silence between them grew, Saitou closed the distance between them. His hand came up ever so gently and carefully began picking the blades of grass from her tumbled tresses. His added height gave him the advantage as she simply stood there, uncertain of what the devil was building inside of her.

Tokio felt as though a fire had suddenly burst within her, leaving her with a breathless, heavy feeling in her chest. The intensity of his eyes, yet the gentleness in his hands had her world spinning uncontrollably. Disposing of the last grass blade, his hand came down to cup her cheek, tilting her startled gaze to meet his. She looked up at him with confusion and a swirl of other emotions, but fear was not among them. Thank the gods for that. He wasn't sure he'd be able to go through with this if she feared him. Even he wasn't that much of an asshole.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, surprised to find his own voice rather husky. She visibly shivered, obviously affected by his tone. That was a useful to know.

"Of course," she murmured, eyes still locked with his. She felt like a bow string, taunt and ready to snap, yet strengthened by the tension. What the hell was going on? Why was he asking if she trusted him? Shouldn't she be asking him if he trusted her?

"Do you trust me to the point of not questioning my actions until everything is over?"

Tokio furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what it was he was trying to ask. Everything? Did he mean the war? This castle? The royal hunt? Her? What was she supposed to not question?

"I trust you more than I would my own father," she said. Amber eyes widened ever so slightly.

"So you would trust me to make a decision for you even if the outcome is not obviously beneficial until later?"

Now she frowned, really confused. Make a decision for her? Like a father would? Why couldn't he just ask her? Or was this one of those complicated court things?

"You aren't going to ship me off to some random husband as an alliance tool, are you?" she asked suspiciously. The side of his mouth twitched in an amused smirk.

"You will not be leaving Fujita or this castle, no. And I would not marry you off to some random man."

"And you're not marrying me off to one of the lords here right?"

"The only men worthy of your rank at this moment are myself and Prince Sano. I can assure you I will never marry you off to him."

"Whew," she exclaimed, relaxing. "You had me frightened for a second there. Why can't you just tell me?" Saitou gave a light sigh over the woman in front of him. She was dangerously close to figuring this out, yet obviously oblivious to the fact she was already responding to his call.

"I asked if you trusted me enough to not question me," he said, pulling away. She could tell he was pulling back into the impenetrable defenses of himself, cutting her off from whatever mystery lay in the depths of his cold amber eyes.

"Wait," she retaliated, a hand gently tugging upon his sleeve. "I trust you. I will not question your actions. I swear it. Do what you will with me."

That was all he needed.

Tokio let out a sharp gasp as his powerful arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. Warm lips attacked her own with gentle persistence, soothing, nipping and pulling until she was responding, awkwardly, to the stimulus. Of their own accord, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, fingers digging into the royal silk robes. His tongue gently touched her lips and he was surprisingly awarded with her open mouth, allowing him free access without hesitation. He started slow, caressing her tongue with his own in a slow seductive manner as his hands trailed down her back to pull her even tighter against him. Her muscles were doing funny spasms wherever his hands went, shivers traveling up and down her spine. An indescribable heat was building between them, scalding her skin wherever it met with his.

Pulling back, Saitou looked down at the flushed woman in his arms. A swirl of emotions had surfaced within him during that kiss. She looked dazed, flushed and horribly disheveled after just one kiss. Chest heaving, she looked up at him without question, eye already burning with emotions she didn't understand. He realized then, in shock, that he'd never wanted another woman the way he wanted her right here, right now. The course of lust he'd gotten while she was cleaning his sword was nothing compared to the near obsessive feeling he was harboring.

"I don't know what we're doing," she said breathlessly. "But please don't stop."

Saitou's already impossibly high ego scale sagged under the extra weight just added. Pulling her behind him, he brought her to the edge of the bed, not giving her another chance to open her mouth as he pulled her to him again. She eagerly leaned into him this time, trying to match his mouth in every way. Had he not been so caught up in the moment he might have laughed at her antics. She didn't have a clue what was going on and that only heightened his desire.

'Gods, if she's got me this bad before experience…what will she be like after she's learned a few tricks?' he thought, his hands quickly working the buttons to her vest.

Tokio gasped as cool air hit her skin and a flutter of white passed over her head. Strong hands lifted her onto the platform raised bed, bringing her at an equal level to the king. Behind him she could see her shirt and vest adorning his chamber floor. Confused, she looked at him only to find his warm mouth closed around her right breast, his left hand caressing the left. A tingle of shock went up her spine, then pooled in indescribable warmth between her legs. She could feel the warmth of his breath, the firm slickness of his tongue like fire against her skin in stark contract to the cooler air. His free hand was against her back, pulling her into his careful ministrations. He smirked as a hand cupped the back of his head, fingers tangling into his hair. Just as she seemed about ready to dig fingers into his scalp he pulled back.

And promptly switched breasts.

Tokio let out a half scream, half whimpering moan as her back arched into his awaiting mouth, her legs unconsciously parting. He carefully pushed her to lie back on the bed, his mouth still circling and nipping at her erect nipples. Tokio simply lay back, closing her eyes as nothing but pleasure rolled up and down her body. She didn't have a clue what was going on, but she be damned before she'd stop something so good.

Her muscles jumped as fingers traced along her lower stomach. She could feel tugging and soon felt the soft calf skin pants being pulled down her legs, fingers gently caressing the tender skin on the inside of her legs. Her hips bucked slightly against the torture as she struggled to catch her breath, her eyes wide and focused upon the curtains of the large canopy style bed.

And then a wet heat touched the burning area between her legs, stroking her over sensitive skin with firm pressure. Something akin to delightful electric shock shot up the very core of her, leaving her head feeling overheated as the lower half of her body burned with some unnamed ache. What the hell was down there?

Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked down to the edge of the bed where her legs were being held apart. Her jaw dropped in shock at the sight of the king's head right between her legs, leaving her with only one conclusion as to what was creating that delightful feeling. Her arms trembled as she watched him, an overwhelming and odd feeling washing over her.

Then amber eyes looked up. Fire seemed to burn from the intensity of his gaze, causing her to gasp in shock. The gaze was too intense, too powerful. Her elbows gave out and she fell back upon the bed, her breath coming ten times faster than it had before.

Warm hands ran up her hips as he withdrew his mouth, a smirk upon his face at her obvious plight. Most women could not watch a man while receiving such attention. The sensation coupled with the sight of eyes just above the apex of their legs was more than most women could handle. His arm came beneath her back, pulling her into the center of the bed.

It was at this point Tokio realized he had, at some point, shed his clothes. Sleek, well muscled skin met her own. She looked upon him in awe, eyes traveling up and down the taunt body she'd never seen. Light scars adorned his chest amid the strew of taunt muscles on his lean body. Amber eyes looked down into her own with mild amusement as his arms moved to pull hers above her head. She let him. He asked for her trust and she gave it willingly.

Besides, so far she had no complaints.

Her gaze fell to his lips, still amazed that he'd done such a thing. How come she'd never heard of this before? Was it some big secret? He seemed to sense her confusion and softly kissed her swollen lips ever so gently.

"Do you remember Sano mentioning birds and bees?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. Shivers went down her spine as the slight vibration echoed through his body and into hers.

"Yes."

"This is what he meant."

Tokio let out a yelp as fingers caressed where his mouth had been moments before. She'd never really thought about the area between her legs as being so sensitive. After all, wasn't it just the area where one excreted bodily wastes from? How the hell had he ignited such a delirious feeling. His knee was between her legs, preventing her from closing against the friction that sent her senses reeling.

Taking his time, Saitou nipped and kissed along her neckline, nuzzling into the area where her collarbone met the shoulder muscle. She turned her head into his, lips closing in around his ear to tug and suck upon it just as he was doing down her neck.

So the little minx did have an imagination.

His fingers stopped rubbing against her, causing her to whimper in disappointment. A light bite along her neck quickly hushed her. Then the fingers were back…only this time they were pushing against her.

Then one slid into her, sending a shock of sensation all along her core, muscles clamping down upon the intrusion which only increased the delightful friction. Only the weight of his body kept her from bucking against his hand, a light breathy scream escaping her lips. Carefully he slid in a second finger, pushing up as far as his fingers would go and soothing the tight, hot flesh within. The woman beneath him was near begging for something she didn't know, the spasms of her muscles twitching under his own.

Yet he could not lose himself yet. There was yet the spell to attack. Luckily she was easily distracted as he searched for the source of the spell. It swirled around her in a wave of old magic, not very strong but just enough to be effective. It was gradually weakening as she writhed under him, wavering as she grew bolder in her own explorations.

And there it was. The core of the spell. Unsurprisingly it was deep within her, only reachable by one means.

Gasping for air, she looked up when he pulled his fingers from her. Already near exhaustion, she gave him a desperate look. She didn't know how she knew, but this wasn't over. For one, he looked like he had yet to begin the finish. And two, the ache within her screamed for completion.

"Trust me," he said gently, smoothing the strands of hair from her face. "This will be uncomfortable at first, but will be better once you grow accustomed to it." He covered her lips with his own, not giving her a chance to think what he meant. Her mouth eagerly opened under his, accepting everything he had to offer. His hands rested on the backs of her thighs, pulling her legs far apart so he lay between them. Her skin burned where he touched her, the rest of her covered in a light sheen of sweat from the exertion. Something firm, yet smooth was pushing against her core, causing her to once again throb with unknown desires. If it was anything like his fingers, she was more than happy to comply. Spreading her legs wide, she tilted her hips up to meet his.

Saitou let out a deep groan into her mouth, a hand running down her hip to reach between them. Her innocent gesture almost had him letting go before even getting inside of her. Lining himself up, he slowly pushed inward. The slick, hot heat covered him with such ease he actually stopped breathing for a moment.

Her eyes were wide at the sensation. This thing was much bigger than fingers and pulsed against her walls with heat and power. He was pushing in slowly, allowing her to adjust to the intrusion. Occasionally he would stop, his ragged breath mingling with her own until he felt her relax more.

At first the intrusion was just odd. Then the feeling turned to a slight discomfort, but the friction also stimulated more enjoyable feelings. The more she relaxed, the better it felt…minus the fact that her muscles were near screaming at the stretched feeling.

Saitou was only slightly surprised to find no resistance. Considering the accident on the horse, it was not too surprising she had no hymen. Active women often unconsciously tore their maiden head before ever committing any sexual act. Besides, the spell was proof enough of her innocence…in addition to her naivety and trusting acceptance. He'd have to thank Hiko for making the seduction of his own daughter such an easy task.

"Stop," she whimpered. Saitou's muscles locked in place, halting any movement beyond the barest amount of breathing. He looked down at her, gently touching her cheek until her eyes fluttered open to meet his.

"Sorry…it's just…."

"I can wait," he answered, his voice almost cracking. His body wanted to bury himself deep into her, but if he was to keep her trust beyond this he needed to wait.

Soft caresses traced her skin as they lay there, his muscles taunt with being held back as she tried desperately to relax through the ache. It wasn't as pleasurable as before and she didn't want to continue, except she'd given him her word.

Nothing would break her word.

"Tokio," he said, voice near the tone he used to give orders with. "Look at me."

Her eyes looked into his, a slight ache in her chest as she saw emotion actually grace his face for more than a brief moment. His eyes held respect, patience and understanding. It had the desired effect, causing her to relax more.

"Can you just do it fast? I don't think it'll hurt any more or less-"

Twisting his hips Saitou slammed upward into her, his eyes watching her face carefully. Her eyes widened in shock as her back arched against him, hips pressing into his. As she recovered from the initial shock her breaths were coming in gasps, hisses of pain through her teeth.

"You did ask for it," he pointed out, feeling within her as the last remnants of the spell barely held. He'd have to sheath himself in her more than once. She wasn't going to like this. "I need to you stay with me," he whispered in her ear as she held onto his shoulders for dear life. "It will get better, I promise."

Unable to speak, she merely nodded in reply. Slowly he pulled back, the friction between them causing her to arch her back against him again. Just as the discomfort decreased, he pushed back in. Her nails dug into his shoulder as he repeated the process, slowly pulling in and pushing back in with a gentle rhythm.

Saitou didn't know when it became pleasurable for her. One moment she was wincing and piercing his skin with her nails and the next her body relaxed, pushing against his. She wasn't loose enough yet to fully enjoy the coupling, but the signs of discomfort were leaving her. Needing his own completion he pushed into her faster, still only half the pace he'd like to set, but still much better than before.

Tokio watched in wonderment as all masks dropped from his face, the light coat of sweat upon his brow and low grunts he emitted strangely attractive. She felt overwhelmingly proud to witness such emotion. He wasn't insulting, he wasn't sarcastic. Just, himself…and obviously highly enjoying thrusting into her. The discomfort had waned, but the ache that had burned before was lost. This new sensation felt good, with the building friction, but too much discomfort from before let her unable to accept the pleasure.

Yet she would have asked for no other pleasure than watching and feeling the man above her.

Driving deep within her, Saitou let himself go. The spell within her shattered, letting go of the block within her mind as he unknowingly hit a rather tender spot within her which caused her eyes to go wide and muscles to clench around him tight. He hadn't given her an orgasm, but he certain ended it on a more pleasurable feeling.

And then her body pulsed…but not like a heart beat. It was a pulse of magic.

Magic calling magic.

Tokio was caught in a whirl of emotions as she felt something in her head snap. It was as if a whole new world had suddenly opened, mental connections that had seemed impossible before suddenly making perfect sense. And her body was practically humming under the power above her.

Wait. Power? Since when could she sense power?

Amber eyes met hers in equal confusion. While she remained in the dark, comprehension dawned across his brow.

"No wonder he wanted you as an alliance tool," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

"You're a goddamned channel…"

Now she was really confused. First of all, she suddenly had this feeling they should not have done what they just did…and now he was uttering what seemed like complete nonsense to her.

"A what?"

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And that's this time's chapter. Yeah, cliff hanger, sorry. You'll find out what a channel is, why they are important etc in the next chapter. And we'll also get to the humiliation Marie Antoinette survived.

Now for the royal fact. Prince Charles is going to marry Camilla. Yes, she is a divorced woman, therefore can never be Queen. But she can still marry Charles and Charles will still be able to be King. How does that work? Well, due to an English civil war it was decided that a separate title would be given to monarchs who won't/can't be allowed to have "equal" ranking with the original intended ruler. This was mostly because of issues many English had with some of the husband choices their princesses got through history.

So, Camilla will be the Duchess of Cornwall, not Princess of Wales, when she marries Charles. Upon his coronation, she will become England's first ever Princess Consort, the female equivalent to Prince Consort (which was what Prince Albert was to Queen Victoria). Because Diana is dead, Charles' marriage to a divorced woman does not affect his ability to be crowned king.

Amusement in all of this is the title is to keep the spouse of the heir from having too much influence over the throne. Somehow I doubt changing a title makes the person in question any less effective in terms of influence. Only changes the methods by which they'd get things done.


	14. Compromised

Whew, has life been busy! Yeah, so besides being swamped at work I've also been either too tired or too busy on weekends. Golden Week has been one of my few times of rest….although I was dragged to several festivals as well. Some weird guy tried to hug me….that was odd.

Sorry for the delay in between chapters! I can't do it all unfortunately!

**Chapter 14: Compromised**

"A what?" Tokio asked, still breathing hard beneath him. His body was hot, but relaxed above her. His eyes were locked with hers in an intensive, searching gaze. He almost looked like he'd never seen her before.

"A channel. You were raised in a family of mages and know nothing of channels?"

Tokio only shook her head, suddenly feeling rather inadequate.

"Why study something you have no hope of ever understanding?" she replied softly. "Trying to explain magic to someone without it is like trying to teach a tone deaf person to sing."

"That," he said dryly, "sounds like something your father would say and he couldn't be more wrong. Magic is very easily explained in most aspects. Take, for example, a channel."

He carefully pulled out of her and moved them farther up to the pillows. Turning over the blanket he tucked her in. Tokio rolled away from the pillow and contented herself to lie on his chest, her brown eyes looking up at his in near starved curiosity. She made for an apt pupil.

"Think of power being like water. You can have a river of power, an ocean or even just a simple trickle. Like water, it can be powerful or weak, depending on how it is used. Shallow rivers have less power than deep ones. You understand so far?"

She gave a light nod of her head. Her tumbled tresses were half tangled, but he soothed his hand down them, pausing for a moment to enjoy the silken feeling. She had to be the most unselfconscious newly deflowered women ever. Then again, she had no idea she should be self-conscious. He wasn't about to enlighten her.

"A channel is someone who can focus power. They have no power of their own, but they can have power pass through them."

"I'm lost," she stated with a frown.

"Think of a river dam. If you only allow the water to go through one part, the water is much stronger than if you allow the water to flow over the entire dam."

"Like a magnifying lens and sunshine?"

"Somewhat, except a channel has more control over pinpointing than a magnifying glass. A channel takes the power and bends it to their purpose, no matter what the original purpose of the magic was….even if it was meant to harm the channel. In a way, channels are immune to power…unless caught unawares."

"So what does this have to do with my father?" she asked.

"I suspect your father intended to have you linked to a powerful ally so he didn't have to worry about you being turned against him."

Tokio suddenly became very still. He could feel her muscles begin to tense as mental wheels turned at a frightening pace in her head.

"Please," she begged as tears threatened to form in her eyes. "Don't ask me….to go against my family or the people of Kyoto."

"Stop being an idiot," he snapped. "I can't control you. You are the only person who can choose how the power is utilized. All I can do is give it to you."

"Yes, but I would like to avoid being pressured into using that power in a way I don't agree with."

Saitou's jaw clenched and she could see anger flash in his eyes, but she wasn't about to cower because of her convictions.

"Women do not belong in war…in ANY manner," he replied harshly. "I don't care if you have enough power to level the world."

"Well aren't we a bit chauvinistic," she replied bitterly.

"I would never directly use you," he answered, his tone losing its bite. "Nor would I expect you to utilize power against your home country. I will not, however, inform your father of that. I can at least utilize the advantage I have if he is left to guess."

"Well I don't mind," Tokio said with a yawn, "if you keep him on his toes. That's his problem."

"Sleep. I'll have someone wake you for dinner."

"Hmmm," came her reply and she snuggled against his chest. Saitou tried to move her and she held on tighter. Her nails even dug into his skin a little, causing him to look down at the woman in annoyance.

"Woman, let me up, I've a country to run."

He got no response. It was a good half hour before he could get out of her arms. Surprisingly it amused him more than anything else. Looks like he wouldn't have to worry about Lady Yura hounding him much longer. If Tokio was that possessive in her sleep, he couldn't wait to see what she was like once she realized she was his…..and he hers.

It would prove to be a night of amusement. Far more than he'd had in many years.

The two guards outside the royal chambers nearly shat themselves when their king came out.

He was smiling.

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Tokio awoke to the sound of scratching at the door and a guard's annoyed voice.

"Damn thing wants in again. The king's been gone for hours. Why'd you think it wants in?"

"I don't know," the other replied. "Just let the damn thing in."

"What if it makes a mess in the royal chambers?"

"Not our problem."

"Whatever happened to the princess?"

"You know, come to think of it, I don't remember her leaving. Maybe the king left her in there. No wonder that thing wants in."

The door creaked open and shut quickly. Soft padded feet hit the floor in rapid succession before the large black bundle of fun hurled itself onto the bed. Now wide awake Tokio let the silly wolf cub lick her face, its tail wagging madly.

"Alright, I'm up!"

She sleepily looked up. He was gone…no surprise there. How come she was so sleepy and he wasn't? Maybe it was all that running around she did before coming up here. Swinging her legs from under the covers Tokio let out a sharp gasp. A dull throb was between her legs, leaving muscles she didn't know existed rather tender.

"Ok, easy does it. What the hell did he do to me?" she mumbled to herself and jumped down from the high bedding. Her clothes were scattered all over in various places, making her walk halfway across the room in small, careful steps. "Like hell he's doing THAT again if this is the result. Ow!"

Just as she began buttoning the vest the doors opened and in walked Saori. The head maid looked….amused to say the least…but concern also crossed her features.

"He didn't hurt you, did he? If he did, say the word and I'll lay him across my knee, so help me!"

The princess looked at her with such confusion Saori began to wonder if she'd made a mistake saying anything. She had yet to speak with the king, but considering the rumor that he came out of his room earlier smiling like a cat in cream, she assumed he'd done as planned.

Tokio had a million thoughts flying through her head. First and foremost she wanted to know just what the hell was going on. She had thought what had happened was just between her and the king…but obviously he'd informed others as well. She didn't know why, but that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Next, why was Saori worried about him hurting her? Did she mean physically or mentally? He certainly didn't beat her up…and had warned her parts would be painful, but never did he hurt her to the point where she would consider it an abuse of her person.

Lastly…why did she get the feeling they'd done something they weren't supposed to?

"I'm….a little sore…but unhurt," she replied slowly.

"Thank stars for that!" Saori said and smiled. "Now if you'll follow me we'll get you dressed for dinner. The king ordered a full banquet in the throne room for tonight. Someone actually got lucky and shot a big buck down."

"Um….can we leave the corset a little loose?" Tokio asked. "I don't think I could walk with it pulled as tight as usual."

"Whatever you wish," Saori said with a small bow that left Tokio really confused. She was a prisoner…if an unorthodox one. Why was Saori suddenly very agreeable to anything? Did this have something to do with ….whatever the king had done?

Only one way to find out.

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"And a toast to Lord Hiraki for supplying the monstrous buck!"

All glasses lifted in a cheer, toasting the young lord who was blushing bright red.

"Really…it was nothing….." he tried to say but was drowned out in the cheers and applause. The only person not cheering whole heartedly was the king, who never did that sort of thing anyway. Hiraki was slightly ashamed to say the least. Getting the deer had been sheer luck. The damn thing burst out of the woods right in front of his horse. His finger had been on the crossbow trigger and pulled it when the horse shied, sending the cross bolt straight into the heart of the deer. An inch to the left and he would have hit his own horse.

That and the Princess had not yet heard of his glorious…or not so glorious kill.

"And a toast to the king's bride-to-be…whoever the lucky lady may be!" a lord said, raising his goblet with a twinkle in his eye. Much to the assembly's amazement, the corners of the king's mouth actually twitched into a small smile. He wasn't even annoyed at the subject….odd behavior since he'd never before not snapped his infamous temper at the idiot who dared broach the subject. His eyes flicked to the doorway before he suddenly rose from his throne, causing everyone to scramble to stand as well.

"Since we are on the topic and everyone is so eager to know who the lady in question is, why don't I fulfill your curiosity?" he said in an almost mocking tone. No one else saw the humor dancing in his eyes as they awaited a name….any name. Hushed whispers were barely heard as the room focused its attention upon the king.

"I chose the lady with the war on Kyoto in mind. As many of you know my sister, Tomoe, is currently married to the heir of Kyoto. She has written to me to say she is happy with her decision and is not in need of a rescue. As such the war is becoming too taxing if its original reason is no longer an issue. However, I am not willing to just let Kyoto take the trade city to the north…nor do I want to keep the silly swamp ridden villages we conquered along the eastern border. As such, I sent a treaty to King Hiko."

The hushed murmur of gossip was now growing to a dull roar as they tried to figure out where he was going with this. Had some military genius allied his daughter to the king or something? What the devil was going on?

"We're at war?" Hiraki asked to no one in particular around himself. A footman behind him struggled not to snicker at the oblivious lordling.

"Tokio," the king said, his voice rising above all others without shouting. The entire room stopped in shock. Their king was on a first name basis with the prisoner princess? "You can come in now."

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Tokio stopped breathing when the entire room turned to look at her. Why had the king turned their focus upon her? She hated being in the spotlight…especially when she had no clue as to why she was there. Having just come up to the large double doors of the throne room she was ignorant of what the king had been discussing. Something about Kyoto and swamp ridden villages?

"Tomoe chooses to ally herself with Kyoto and so Kyoto will ally with Fujita. My future bride, Princess Tokio of Kyoto."

Tokio felt her eyes widen in shock as her jaw dropped. All gossip stopped at the lords and ladies before her mirrored her own shock. Only one voice spoke out in the deafening silence.

"Oh no you don't!" Megumi yelled, pushing her way through ball gowns and obnoxious hats. "You cannot marry our princess, by law, without her father's permission!"

Saitou looked down from his throne at the determined duchess. Prince Sano stood behind her looking sheepish. Sano actually had enough sense to know now was not the time to argue the subject…not in front of an audience anyway.

"King Hiko is about as likely to give _you_ permission as the demons across the barrier!"

"Prince Sano," Saitou drawled. "I suggest you curb your guest's tongue before I have someone remove the offending object from her mouth."

"She's right," a small voice said from the back of the room. All eyes turned to Tokio again as she began making her way toward the main table and throne. "You cannot fault her for telling the truth…about the law, that is."

"See!" Megumi reaffirmed and stood defiant in front of the king, although one of her hands crept back and enveloped itself in Sano's. He looked shocked at the gesture, but didn't complain.

"Well that would be true," he began, hating how he would have to tell this before an entire room full of gossipers. "Except for one minor fact."

"And what is that?" Megumi asked.

"I compromised your little princess…and she was quite willing. By law that makes her father's permission inconsequential."

Sano barely had enough time to stepped forward to catch Megumi who fell in a dead faint. Gasps and instant gossip began to spread, now loud enough to drowned out any voice, including the ones trying to gossip. Tokio merely stood there in absolute confusion.

"Compromised?" she repeated to herself in confusion. Looking around her she quickly deduced it wasn't something honorable or highly thought of. Dark, suspicious looks were sent her way as people speculated, devised and outright lied. What did this all have to do with her? Why was she suddenly the victim of malicious rumors and murderous glares?

She startled when a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her up the stairs to the throne. She turned and found herself looking into hard amber eyes…familiar yet suddenly harsh and painful to look at. Tokio couldn't, however, bring herself to speak any words. Only her eyes pled for a reason….justification of this all.

"Trust me," he said simply, his eyes softening for barely a moment. She gave a slow nod, understanding he would tell her in time. As he pulled her to stand beside him she fought the overwhelming feeling to flee….to run far from him, this room and Fujita. He had asked her trust…but here she was ready to flee. Inhaling a ragged breath she steeled herself. She would trust him….and hope he would tell her what was going on soon.

Especially this marriage business. What the hell was he thinking?

Tokio had never felt as scared and alone as she did at that moment.

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Sano breathed a sigh of relief as Megumi's eyes flew open. Her nostrils flared at the unpleasant smell of the smelling salts and she quickly regained consciousness with murder written in her eyes.

"That BASTARD!" she seethed.

"Saitou always was a manipulative one. I can't believe Tokio let him seduce her though…hell, I didn't know the old man had it in him!"

"Just because he is over thirty doesn't mean he is incapable of luring a younger woman to bed," Megumi said dryly. "Some women actually prefer older men. More stamina."

If she'd been in a better mood she would have laughed at the obvious affect her words had on his ego. Even the barb didn't raise her spirits.

"Still….she's like…half his age!"

"Wouldn't be the first time, nor the last," Megumi mused. "Oh gods, what a mess! King Hiko will have my head for not stopping this. Tokio isn't in love with him….at least I don't think so. She looked more in shock than in love anyway. I assume he didn't bother to tell her of their intended marriage during the spiteful act."

"Aw, now Kitsune, it can be much more enjoyable than you're making it sound," Sano teased only to get a punch in the arm for his effort.

"Can you be serious for a change?" she snapped. "Do you realize what is going to happen?"

"Saitou marries Tokio? And they live….well, not so happily ever after?"

"Funny…I meant before all that. Or rather, directly following the marriage ceremony."

"Nope…not following," he confessed. "It might help if you didn't hit me before asking me to think along your parallels. Devilishly hard to do you know."

"In the case of a compromised princess the King reserves the right to have witnessed proof of the willing compromise."

"Uh, Kitsune, I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure Saitou was there if he is the one who compromised her."

That earned him another hit, leaving his ears ringing.

"Not King Saitou, idiot! King Hiko!"

"You can't mean…." Sano began, his eyes growing wide as he realized what she was referring to.

"Yes. And who is the only qualified Kyoto representative here besides Tokio herself?"

"Holy shit!"

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So what do I speak of? Well, that will come in the next chapter….sorry, not sure when I'll get that out. Please be patient. And no, reviews saying "Update!" aren't going to affect me one iota….sorry. It gets written when it gets written and not before. If anything encouragement in forms other than "Update soon!" inspires me much more effectively. Any review is find though…I'm really not picky.

Royal fact: Did you know all titles (Duke, Earl etc) are technically owned by the royal family? This means if there are no possible heirs for the title to pass to, then the title goes back to the royal family. Like they have an invisible vault holding tons of titles. They can also hand these titles out at will, change them etc. Kind of makes you wonder if they have a hat somewhere with names.

"Let's see, let's make him the…." (pulls paper out of hat) "Duke of…"(pulls second paper out) "Hertfordshire!"

In addition not all titles are hereditary…imagine that. Mind you the majority of them are so that's rather handy for the males of the family (few titles are hereditary through daughters).

And then some lords had multiple titles as well. So the Duke of Glasgow could also be the Marquis of Windom…..very handy if he wanted to give his son a title or two. Yeah, it's almost like having a car. You can only drive one at a time but you can certainly loan them out to your sons or have them just sit around.

Oh man, and don't get me started on the silly formality of names, addressing and titles. For example, you call a Duke "Your grace" but an earl "My lord". The son of a Duke is called "Lord" but the son of a Viscount is called "Honorable ". And then there's the complication of daughters….married, unmarried, who their father was, what that person's title is etc etc….

On the upside if you were Lady X and married Mr. Y, an untitled man, you retained your Lady status while he remains in Mr. status…no upgrading for him. However if Ms. Z married Lord X she becomes Lady X. Nice perk for the women there.


	15. Royal Pain

**Chapter 15: Royal Pain**

Tokio was baffled.

She was currently standing beside the king in a small official looking room with several important ranking witnesses around them cramming in to watch them sign their names in the wedding registry. Apparently it took no more than her signature to make her into a wife. Who knew a simple signature could mean so much?

Saitou, of course, signed first. She would have been more shocked if he had offered the quill over to her. She watched with emotional numbness as his hand boldly flourished upon the singular line. Wax was dropped next to it and the seal of his country pressed into the substance before it dried. Then all eyes turned to her.

'_I wonder what they would do if I refused to sign?_' she thought, but her mind didn't even seriously consider it. If the king was good humored about her rejection…which she doubted he would be since he didn't take no for an answer….he might just throw her in the dungeons. If he was in a foul mood she might find herself shipped home or worse…on the block. Marriage was looking better by the minute.

The room was hushed in silence as she took the quill from her husband to be and stepped forward. It was quite an effort to move the large court skirts among the dozens of spectators. She didn't bother to look around, but she could feel their gazes upon her…unfriendly and cruel. What had she done that was so worthy of their hate?

Maybe she didn't want to know.

"Obviously we will have a grander ceremony once preparations can be made and the treaty is solidified," Saitou said, his voice harsh and authoritative. Tokio hardly expected him to be anything other than what he was….yet the indifference hurt all the same. Would it have really shown him to be so weak if he'd cracked a small smile at her?

'_If wishes were horses, we'd be knee deep in manure_,' she thought with a mental sigh. '_At least I'm not married to Lord Hiraki._'

The witnesses and official paperwork went by in a blur as Tokio fought the cold, heavy feeling settling in her chest. She felt suffocated, trapped….betrayed. The king….no, her husband….asked for her trust. And yet right now it felt too much to ask.

'_You're being silly_,' she told herself. '_Stop being such a ninny and face life! Your marriage was never going to be your decision. Be thankful it's someone you can at least respect!_'

But was respect enough?

Saitou took her arm in his own, not even asking to escort her as they made their way back to the feast. She could tell his mind was elsewhere, fervently thinking of something far more important than whether or not she was worth a simple courtesy. That thought brought a cold shock to her.

'_Being Queen will not increase my time with him….only the ease at which I can frustrate him._'

The last thing she wanted was to be in the way.

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Saitou's mind was working furiously and he was grateful for her silence as she let him lead her back to the feast. The nobles had already discussed something that had actually slipped his mind. He HATED forgetting minor details.

The consummation ceremony.

Having compromised her….well, admitting to it….he had thought he had effectively dodged that aspect, but apparently not. Whether he liked it or not, royalty did have to prove to a small assemblage that they had, in fact, consummated the marriage. This was to prevent royal couples from never bothering to get in bed together, effectively making their chances for offspring zero to nil. If she had been pregnant he could have by passed the law, but since it was too soon to tell he was stuck with the idiotic ceremony.

And oh how some of those nobles looked all too happy at the prospect of watching him mount his wife. It was sick. Or perhaps they just wanted to see the beautiful, young princess naked. He was sure that would sustain a few sick fantasies.

'_Hell, I seem to be living one…marrying a woman nearly half my age._'

He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked extremely withdrawn and pale. For once a slight pain of guilt ran through him, but he quickly stamped it out before anyone would notice. As they neared the throne room he could practically feel the fear and tension from her. Noticing the half guarded malicious glares and frantic whispers it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

'_I just gave them the gossip of the century,_' he thought dryly. '_And rather than pin it on me, the fools are blaming her….why is my country full of idiots?_'

Suddenly he didn't want to be there anymore than she did. Obligation called…but since when did he give a damn about ceremonial bullshit?

Tokio gave a light gasp as he suddenly stopped not three paces from the door, his expression hardening and a dark look entering his eyes.

"We shall dine in the library," he said in an authoritative voice. "Alone. Have Saori sent to serve us."

Before the nobles around them could react Saitou spun her around in a whirl of skirts and headed back down the hallway.

'_Heaven help me, I'll never understand this man!_' Tokio thought.

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"My lady?" Sano asked as he tapped on the door and pushed it open. Megumi looked up from her chair in mild surprise.

"I thought you were a guard for a second there. What's with the sudden formality?"

"Wouldn't want to start rumors of our own, now would we Kitsune?" he teased, not noticing her face fell a bit at that. So much for respect. He had, however, brought her a tray of her favorite foods.

"Did you make sure someone taste tested it?" she asked jokingly.

"Come to think of it, no, but I'll remedy that," he teased and picked up a chicken leg. "Hmm, doesn't taste poisoned to me!"

"Idiot," she murmured and picked up a fork. "Most poisons aren't detectable until you're dead. And you're the prince. If anything I should taste test it for you."

"Heaven forbid! I would never ask a lady to do such a thing. Besides, dad always has Yahiko if I kick the bucket."

"You are incorrigible," she said with a sigh and would have said more had a bird not smacked into her window with enough force to crack it.

"What the hell?" Sano cursed, dropping his chicken.

Megumi rushed over to the window and opened it. A large pigeon was righting itself and shaking its head as it nearly teetered over the edge. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it inside.

"Damn thing get lost?" Sano asked as she pulled the message strip from the leg of the bird. Her pale skin suddenly got a whole lot paler and she shook her head.

"It's from King Hiko. He demands proof. Medical proof."

"Kitsune, there's no reason you should have to witness…..er….that. I'll just take your place and tell you yay or nay."

"I can't. Hiko specifically forbids it. He's pissed, Sano. Really pissed. He even signed his signature with a blood spell…..he's not only serious, he can tell if I am lying and won't hesitate to have my head and hers if we do."

"Are all kings….my father discluded….manipulative bastards?" Sano swore, nearly knocking over the food as he rose. "You've already suffered enough being a prisoner. Why the hell does he demand you do this for him as well?"

"Because I am the only one with rank and medical training. Why send more people when one who is already on location will do? If you think my uncle holds any affection for me you are wrong. He treats the men of the family harsh, but he just ignores us women and expects us to do his bidding without question."

"You need not be beholden to him," Sano said softly. "If he dares to cast you out, you are more than welcome at my father's court."

He meant the words in the nicest way, but it only struck a nerve in her pride. Watching her back stiffen, her nose lift and her eyes turn hard he realized his mistake. Never tell a Kyoto woman she could run…they inevitably wanted to prove otherwise.

"I am the Duchess of Aizu. I have a responsibility to my king and country. I will not shirk my duty merely because it is unpleasant!"

There was nothing he could say that would sway her pride and temper now. Oh that she was more than a lass of eighteen years. It was not an age anyone should have asked for such responsibility.

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"Why are we here?" Tokio found herself asking as she made herself as comfortable as possible in the full court gown while sitting in the chair. The chair was large and comfy…the clothes were large, but in no way comfortable.

"I tire of their stupidity," he answered as he looked up and down the rows of bookshelves, his eyes searching for something.

"I'm sorry…if I am being an inconvenience. I just…I don't understand," she said quietly, stubbornly setting her chin as she refused to allow the tears to fall. '_I am almost eighteen years old! Enough tears! Adults do not start bawling at the first sign of difficulties!_'

"You are not an inconvenience," came his sharp reply. "In fact, you are proving extremely useful. Far more than that room full of idiots anyway. Eat and I'll fill you in as to why."

Even his promise of information failed to lift her spirits, but she did as she was instructed and began putting food upon her plate. She felt no hunger, but nibbled at the food in delicate numbness. It was almost tasteless and even the delicious smell failed to entice her.

"Your father wasn't inclined to give up the territory your adopted brother so viciously claimed. However, he was rather inclined to accept my terms when I pointed out a very important fact."

Tokio stopped eating and focused all her attention on the man before her. He was pulling several books out and didn't glance her way.

"I pointed out you were a channel and not going to leave my country any time soon. Then I let his imagination run."

"That makes sense," she said slowly. "But why the marriage?"

Amber eyes moved from the shelf to meet her eyes, an eyebrow lifted in amusement.

"In order for someone to know you are a channel without you telling them…rather difficult since you didn't know…the person in question would have to have intimate knowledge of your body."

"Intimate knowledge?" she asked innocently.

"What we did this afternoon. It's called many things. Sex, making love, fornication….take your pick."

"Oh…" came her response. "I…get the feeling…we should not have done that."

"Technically speaking, no," he replied, amused that she wasn't blaming it all on him even though he had seduced her.

"I should be mad at you."

Saitou nearly laughed as he regarded her with vast amusement. She certainly didn't look mad. Confused, yes. Tired, yes. Stress, most assuredly. But not mad. She was right, she should be mad. She should be screaming her pretty little head off at him. And yet here she was sitting in that god awful gown, patiently listening to him.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if you screamed and threw books at me, no," he responded.

"I wouldn't want to hurt the book since I doubt it would do any damage to you," came her sarcastic reply. She ran a hand through her hair, immediately running into the coronet and many pins that held her hair in the latest fashion. She began tugging them out and tossed them unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Your faith is…appreciated," he mocked.

"So are you going to explain this whole sex thing or do I have to learn as we go?" she asked. He let out a low chuckle. Having such a young and naïve woman ask him such a question without blushing was the most amusement he'd had in months.

"Browse through these," he offered and handed her the stack of books. She was wary of the overly amused look in his eyes and the slightly twisted smile on his face. And yet for some reason it left her heart pounding…

"Oh goody, reading material," she replied dryly as she piled the books at her feet.

"Do me a favor," he said, his voice turning every so slightly soft and husky. It was so different from the voice she knew to be his she actually jumped in surprise. Amber eyes held hers in an intense gaze as he leaned down and captured her chin between his fingers. A shiver ran down her spine but her eyes never left his.

"Read this one last," he said and slipped a small book under her pile. For a single moment he simply stood there looking into her eyes, his gaze dark and intense. Her blood began to pound in her ears as her breath hitched ever so slightly and a heavy feeling began to build within her chest.

What the hell was he doing to her?

Then he suddenly moved, pulling her lips to his and claiming them with fierce intensity. Startled, Tokio let out a soft moan before she could hold back any reaction. She didn't care if this was right or wrong. It felt too good to question the way he was molding her lips to his or the way her heart was racing with the slightest touch.

He pulled back and gave her a gentle nip, his eyes nearly glowing with intensity. She hoped the books at her feet would explain whatever emotion was on his face. She also hoped they told her how to get it on his face often.

Releasing her he gave a brief nod of his head and made his way to the door.

"You're…leaving?" she asked, then wanted to his herself over the head for sounding so stupid.

"Some things are better studied in solitude. Besides, I don't want you to plague me with questions before you are finished reading all of it."

Tokio gave a slight scowl that suggested he knew her all too well. To her it was far easier to ask questions about the information she wanted rather than shifting through all the information he was asking her to read. Oh well, at least she wasn't in a room full of hateful stares.

The door closed with a deep echo, reverberating in the silence. She gave a small sigh at being left alone. While the throne room was full of 'idiots' as he called them, at least there was the music and sound of people. Here it was just her, the books….and a deep silence.

Yet she felt safe. Even safer than when he'd been there. At least she didn't confuse herself.

"So what is this silly book he wanted me to save for last?" she mused aloud. "He should have known that would only spark my curiosity."

The book was small with no title and a thick leather binding. Opening it she felt a bit of a surprise to see pictures…very familiar looking pictures. If she wasn't mistaken, the two people in the picture seemed to be doing exactly what they had done…

No words graced the pages. Only pictures. Rather detailed pictures.

"Damn him," she cursed stubbornly. "He knew very well I wouldn't understand a thing without reading all of this first. I hate it when he's right!"

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Ok, I lied….the humiliation will be in the next chapter. Can you all guess what it will be? Hmm, that means I have to come up with royal facts for this chapter. Uh, Prince William isn't married? Ok, that was lame. Let's see, how about the Danish royal family? A friend of mine had an exchange student from Finland for a year (boy was that interesting!). Ever had someone ask you a question completely in Danish? Almost sounds like a perfectly legitimate English question…except you can't understand a word!

Well to start with the royal family is over 1000 years old…wow. America is such a baby compared to that! At the top is the Queen (wow, another woman in power!). Her husband the Prince Consort, then there's the Crown Prince and Princess, the royal Princess (ie daughter of current Queen), the heir spare prince and his wife…and then 3 kids. Nothing really exciting although the Heir Spare, Prince Joachim is recently divorced from his wife of 10 years. No one is quite as exciting as the English royal family. They seem to be pretty down to they are the focus of a lot of public attention. I wonder if that's because they don't tend to do outrageous things or if the people care less than the Brits…. Any Brits out there care to elaborate? Until my friend's exchange student I didn't even know Finland had a royal family….

Nope, I'm still holding out for Prince William…although I did see a rather hot classmate of his on TV. The guy was half Japanese (hence why he was seen on Japanese TV) and has a townhouse to die for near Harrod's (the really big, expensive department store in London). Cost way more than you want to think about…damn did I want to propose marriage right then and there. Then I remembered I don't like cities. Zannen.

I guess I'll just have to take a crack at being a real author (hmmm, how the hell do I get published?) and earn my own funds. It worked for J.K. Rowling right?


	16. Duty Calls

You know, I often get reviews of several lines….but then there's Trinity. Yep, she did it again. But at the same time she raised some very good questions….I felt like I was handed a book report of my own work. It was slightly odd….but since she understood it well I am guessing I've written it all adequately.

Yes, Saitou was annoyed at Tokio's lack of faith. When Tokio refused to attack her family he was annoyed that she would think he had such little honor. In the manga Saitou Hajime is a former Shinsengumi member (3rd Captain) and well known for his honor. I wanted to carry that honor across into this story as well, although obviously it is not the honor of a samurai. However, men of very high honor are often irritated when their honor is so obviously questioned.

Now, there will be some rather distasteful material toward the end of this chapter….NC-17 warning. Please bear in mind this was what some royals (not presently that I know of…I hope not anyway) had to go through. I read a rather disturbing article on Marie-Antoinette that led to the inspiration for this fic. Explanation of the article will follow at the end of the chapter.

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**Chapter 16: Duty Calls**

By three in the morning Tokio was not only thoroughly exhausted, she was pissed. All around her lay the books he'd given her…the books and books of information she'd never even contemplated before.

'I am a fool to never wonder where children came from,' she thought viciously. Although, according to one book, it was a spell that had been cast on her long ago, probably early in her childhood. 'I wouldn't put it past my father to do such idiocracy.'

And yet it barely made sense. Why put a spell on someone to make them completely naïve? That had, in a way, left her completely unprepared for seduction.

Yes, she had a term for it now. Her the naïve, innocent victim and the king…now her husband, the predator. He'd manipulated her quite well into exactly the right spot. Even used those seemingly innocent words of trust. And she had trusted him alright. So much for her trust. He'd neatly used that for his own devices as well.

Frustrated, she picked up a book and hurled it across the room. The book landed with a dull thud, but gave her no satisfaction. She wanted to scream, shout, pull her hair, break things….hell ANYTHING to alleviate the burning anger within her.

And yet all she did was calmly crumple to the floor in a sea of material. She looked down at it in mild distaste. It was illusion, all of it. The illusion of wealth. The illusion of power. The illusion of having everything she could possibly want.

And yet there was very little she could actually call her own. Not even her decisions were her own. No, they had to be made with everyone else in mind. Everything she did, every choice she made affected hundreds, if not thousands of other people.

'There is no room for selfishness in royalty,' she thought bitterly.

So what did she have?

"Ok, deep breath," she said aloud, using her own voice to calm herself into rational thinking. Her temper flared, but it wasn't doing a damn bit of good. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself, pulling back from assumptions and quick judgment. Assuming too much could lead her down the wrong cognitive path…and might result in the injury of many people. "Now start back at square one."

Frowning she looked around until she found what she sought. Off to one side was a small table with paper and quill. Picking herself up off the floor….and almost falling back down as the large court skirts tripped her….she made her way over. It would help her to think if she could write down key points.

'God, I'm even picking up his damn habits,' she thought.

"Fact one, father decided I should be clueless about reproduction…and the ways of men," she said as she wrote. "Ways of men…how silly that sounds. I'm sure women are just as capable of the manipulation."

"Fact two, King Saitou figured it out," she mused and frowned. "No surprise there considering he's probably the same class of mage as my father. I wonder if that's why he left me in charge. Flirtations always did confuse me…no wonder Lord Hiraki annoyed me when he thought he should have been courting me."

"Fact three, Saitou compromises me, finds out I'm a channel and marries me." But that made her stop. Quill poised she thought about the explanation he'd left her with hours before. "Then forms treaty by using me as leverage…without actually using me as leverage," she said softly.

Suddenly it seemed to be making a lot more sense. Saitou was a leader. His first and foremost thought would be of his country, his people and their safety. She was no more than a political prisoner and one person. One person verses an entire country.

"Fact four, he didn't have to marry me. Yet he did….but for what reason?" she mused. "Kyoto laws stipulate I'd have to marry him, but he isn't bound by Kyoto law…only Fujita law. Yet he specifically used Kyoto law…why?"

The question left her very confused and dampened any remnants of anger she'd had toward him. There was nothing forcing him to marry her. If the glares from the court were any indication, she suspected they wouldn't have cared if he'd slept with a dozen royal women and left them dishonored.

Honor.

"He…preserved my honor," she said almost in shock. "He dishonored me and my family, but the minute we were married my honor was restored. He didn't do it for himself….he did it…for me?"

Technically they were only married on paper. She wasn't even eighteen so they couldn't hold the official ceremony or the nobles would have every right to protest that their king was holding himself above the law.

Now she was even more confused. Anger was still within her, but she had no idea where to direct it. Then there was the confusion….and uncertainty. Unfortunately there was no one she could run to for council. Would that Okita were still here…

"Okita," she said softly, blinking back a tear.

"I certainly hope you aren't going to make a habit of saying his name when we're in bed," came a sarcastic voice she knew all too well.

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The reports and paperwork couldn't wait so it was no surprise that the watch called out three in the morning when Saitou finished what needed to be done. He spent many a night dealing with such paperwork…and since he'd very neatly created more of it for himself, he couldn't very well grouse about it.

"Damn lords need to figure out how to run their houses more efficiently. Starving the peasants isn't going to make them work harder. It just makes them sick and unruly."

The wolf pup looked up at him and wagged its tail. Once again the creature had latched onto him. Saitou was slightly amused when the pup turned on its back, revealing its belly to him in easy compliance and trust. There was no reason for the pup to trust him…yet it did.

That seemed strikingly familiar.

He ignored the pup and rose with every intention of climbing into his bed for a few hours of rest. He would be up at dawn, he knew, making the final preparations for the marriage ceremony. Her birthday was not long off and that would kill any further protest his more stupid nobles could make. If he felt generous he might even send King Hiko a notice about it.

Something along the lines of: Married your daughter today. Do keep your son off my lands.

He grinned to himself. He could almost see the fury in Hiko's eyes. King Hiko was very similar to himself. They both held a great deal of power and both liked to have control. Hiko was going to be pissed as hell that Saitou didn't bother to even inform him of the wedding, let alone ask his permission….in addition to the defloration of his only daughter and favorite political alliance tool.

And he would get a powerful Queen…once she learned a bit more. Okita's words still echoed in his head. She was capable of fierce loyalty and the fact that Hiko had been stupid enough to let her go…or rather, foolish enough not to keep a closer eye on her…

Kyoto's loss was Fujita's gain.

She wasn't a bad bed partner either. Sure, she didn't have any experience other than what he'd done to her, but she was willing to learn. What man wouldn't want a woman perfectly trained to his tastes? And he was willing to exercise a great deal of patience in that respect. Especially since he wasn't yet sure of her limits. She hadn't been self conscious before, but that would soon change when she began to think about it more. Not to mention the books would probably inform her of the delicateness society treated the subject with. It was only a matter of time before her sharp intellect pieced it together.

His amusement died when his eyes fell upon the bed.

It was empty.

He hadn't expected her to be there. After all she was only slightly aware of the marital duties and since they were not yet married by formal ceremony she would have no idea he expected her in his chambers.

Well that was a problem he'd fix immediately. He certainly wasn't going to wait until the formal ceremony to move her.

Closing his eyes he murmured the spell. It took a great deal of energy to apparate a person from one place to another. Luckily she was easy to move seeing as she had no shields or preventative magic of her own. He'd have to fix that soon though. He certainly didn't want someone else figuring out they could do the same and apparate her right out of the palace.

Funny King Hiko hadn't thought of that. Or maybe he had and couldn't get past the defenses around the palace. She would have been vulnerable only when outside palace walls and that had never been for long periods.

Tokio appeared before him, her eyes closed in deep thought. He hadn't expected her to still be in the ridiculous court gown. Then again, considering the reading material he'd given her he should not have been surprised she'd stayed up, reading long past when she usually went to bed.

"Okita," she said softly, still not knowing her location had changed. He frowned in annoyance. Why the devil was she murmuring his dead councilor's name? Had they been closer than he'd thought?

He felt a light stir of jealousy within him. Ironic that he was jealous of a man dead almost two years. Okita had always looked up to him…and here he was jealous of him.

"I certainly hope you aren't going to make a habit of saying his name when we're in bed," he found himself saying a bit harsher than he intended.

Her eyes flew open in shock, wildly looking around her. She immediately saw she was no longer in the library, eyes taking in chambers she knew all too well. But the rooms that she was once so comfortable in now made her a bit…nervous.

Well, perhaps she would not have been so nervous if he had not been standing in them.

"You could have just asked me to come here," she said lightly as a hand flew to her stomach. "I think you left my stomach in the library."

"The servants are in bed. No reason to wake them," he responded.

"I was about to go to bed, what did you want?" she asked and barely suppressed a wince. "Damn corset," she mumbled.

"You're chambers will now be here," he said calmly, although he was more than amused by her sleepy mumblings, "with me."

She merely nodded as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"One of those husband/wife things right?" she said more to herself than to him and yawned. "I don't suppose you can use some of that magic to get me out of these clothes and into a nightgown? It takes a full twenty minutes to get me out of this stuff."

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. If he wasn't so tired he would have considered stripping her with his hands and finding out how much she'd learned from those books. Even if he could find the energy, she didn't look like she was going to last another five minutes.

Tokio was to say the least, a bit shocked when the court garment suddenly…vanished. She was even more shocked to find herself standing naked right in front of him. He looked extremely pleased with himself with a smug smile upon his face and mischief in his eyes.

"This," she said pointedly while looking at her state of undress, "is not a nightgown."

"Just get in the damn bed," he said with a laugh.

"Men," she grumbled and slid between the soft sheets. They'd been changed, she noticed. They were now a much softer, smoother material…more feminine in a way. It was certainly more comfortable. She found herself drifting into sleep within seconds of closing her eyes.

Saitou shook his head at the amusing sight. There hadn't been much argument on her part to get her naked. What would she be like in the morning when sleep wasn't wearing down her defenses? Blowing out the candles he slipped into the bed beside her. It was against his nature to cuddle against her but when she rolled over and settled next to him he did not resist.

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NC-17 material….you've been warned….

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Royal ceremonies were a royal pain in the ass, Tokio decided. For one, you were woken early in the day just to spend four hours being prepared. Preparation included being sewn into the wedding gown…which she was convinced weighed almost as much as she did…hours spent on her hair, and a million and one last minute details everyone and their uncle just HAD to tell her at that exact time.

Tokio was sure her headache had started within ten minutes of being awake.

Then there was the whole business of the ceremony itself. The damn thing took more than half the day. She was beginning to understand why it took months to plan the damn thing. However, she was getting really sick and tired of everyone telling her what to do as if she was a five year old an incapable of thinking for herself.

And she hadn't seen her husband since the night before. Somehow she suspected his mood was just as foul as hers, if not worse. She could only hope he didn't maintain it later tonight. She'd read of the wedding nights. She could barely contain the excitement she felt.

It was hard to believe months ago she'd known so little. Now she was lucky if she got half as much sleep as she was used to. Saitou had proved to be rather…enthusiastic to teach her a great many things. A lot had come from that little book with all the pictures…and occasionally he came up with something she'd never seen in a book. Outside of the room he was his normal self and barely acknowledged her while busy with the court and running the country…just as she was. When they were alone, however….

She was hardly surprised at the seeming double life. If marriage to her had changed the man he was she would not have respected him as she did. For that reason she held onto the few hours they had alone like a lifeline. She had also learned that he only told her important things in private.

It might have seemed callous to anyone else, but Tokio was grateful for the trust. He could have elected to continue keeping her in the dark. Instead he wanted her to be aware and informed….even if he didn't exactly let her co-rule.

But what King would be willing to share a rule he'd successfully done alone for decades?

Following the silly ceremony…during which Tokio almost fell asleep as the priest droned on….there was, of course, a great feast. It seemed less like a celebration of the marriage and more like an excuse for nobles to get drunk and act like idiots. And she really didn't like the looks several noblemen were giving her. She noticed by the slight clenching of his hand that Saitou was less than pleased over it as well. In fact, he looked more and more annoyed by the minute, but kept his temper, as usual, in very careful control.

'Except I'm the one who'll have to deal with that temper tonight,' she thought, her own mood souring.

The feast wasn't over fast enough, but when Tokio suspected they would have continued far into the night had Saitou not stood an announced their intention to retire. This of course brought a round of leers and knowing looks.

'Idiots,' she thought. 'Everyone knows what's going to happen. Why can't they have more…tact?'

"I'm afraid you aren't going to like this," he whispered as they made their way down the hall. Tokio noticed several nobles following, including her own cousin. Megumi looked tight lipped and extremely unhappy about something.

"Not going to like what?" she asked, exceedingly confused. Did this have something to do with the group of nobles following them?

Saitou stopped as they reached chambers she didn't recognize. Why were they here and not at their own chambers?

"Lords, lady…" Saitou began. Tokio felt him tense beneath her arm. "If you would give us a few minutes alone?" he all but snarled.

They didn't look happy but they murmured an assent and waited. Saitou quickly pulled her into the room, closing and locking the door behind them.

All masks dropped once the door was secure. Tokio suddenly got an overwhelming fear of dread. Saitou rarely let any emotion cross his face, but she could see the faint glimpse of a look she knew all too well. There was something he had to deal with that he found unpleasant…and she could only assume she had something to do with it.

"Since your….intimate education has been through me alone, I assume you know nothing of the Consummation Ceremony."

Tokio frowned. This didn't make sense. Why would there be a ceremony about…sex?

"This isn't going to be easy on either of us," he said, his voice turning emotionless and cold. He was distancing himself, she could tell.

"What exactly does this involve?" she asked.

"That group of idiots….and your cousin…have to watch us consummate our marriage. It's an assurance to the nobility that we have at least taken one step toward the creation of an heir."

A cold shock passed through her system as her back stiffened. Her mind easily made all the connections, causing her jaw to slacken and drop. There was no humor in his eyes. This was no joke.

And yet it made sense….in a sick twisted way.

"Whoever wrote your laws was a sick, twisted pervert," she said after a long silence. He merely snorted in reply at the failed humor.

"Well I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing your body."

"Aren't we a bit possessive," she mused, a corner of her mouth lifting.

"I fail to see the humor in this," he replied, his voice harsh and cold as he looked at her like he'd never seen her before.

"I've been a victim of my station all my life," she replied softly. "What's the point of life if you don't have a sense of humor?"

"I doubt very much you will be laughing in an hour," he replied dryly.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"Hold your damn horses!" Saitou snapped. Then he turned back to her.

"So what do you propose we do to make this as quick and painless as possible?" she asked, looking up at him. He was mildly surprised at her reaction. He hadn't expected her to even allow this.

"First, I suggest we get rid of this….is this even a dress?" he asked, looking down at the huge garment.

"Good thing you have magic or it'd take hours," she mused.

"Waste of power."

And yet the gown disappeared, replaced by a thick velvet gown with a high neckline and uninhibited skirts. She looked up at him with one eyebrow raised in question.

"I told you I'm not letting them see more than they have to."

Before she could respond he pulled her against him, his mouth molding to hers in a way she'd recently become accustomed to. Tokio immediately leaned into it, letting his tongue glide into her mouth. Just as she began to reach for the ties on his shirt he abruptly stopped, pulling away.

"Wha-"

"Shh," he replied. "We're not going to do this the usual way. I won't give them the satisfaction."

Before she could ask he led her to the edge of the bed and turned her away from him. Under light pressure from his fingers she bent herself over the edge of the bed. He carefully pulled her hair to one side, the lightest of caresses along the back of her neck. She thought he would then let the nobles in…but it seemed he had other thoughts in mind.

She felt the heavy velvet lift and the cooler air brushed her legs, causing her to shiver ever so slightly. Calloused hands traced up her legs, firm but light. This was nothing new to her and she trusted him without question.

Tokio moaned when skillful fingers brushed across her, sending pleasurable shocks up and down her spine. She heard him chuckle and would have snapped at him had two fingers not slipped into her, reaching deep before stroking her oversensitive walls. A small shudder passed through her, releasing a familiar wetness. He stroked her once more before withdrawing, leaving her breathless and wanting more.

"Try not to turn your head to the door," he said calmly. "I'm going to let them in now."

She only nodded her head, closing her eyes as tears began to form. She'd been calm, but now the harsh reality of it was setting in. There would be people in here…watching her….and him….

"Breath dammit!" he swore and she let out a gasp as she exhaled. She hadn't even realized she'd stopped breathing. She'd been trying so hard to control her emotions that panic set in.

"I'm fine…just get this over with," she whispered.

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Megumi was less than pleased at being stuck with a bunch of drunk lords who were taking bets on how the Princess…now Queen would be in bed…and just how big the King was. They assumed he had to be quite large to seduce such a beautiful woman.

'Men are fools,' she thought. 'I'll never ally myself to one.'

The doors to the chamber suddenly swung open, much to the surprise of the lounging lords. They happily got up and sauntered in as if they owned the place. Less enthused, she took a deep breath and steeled herself to enter the room.

She didn't know what to expect, but she certainly had not expected to see her cousin bent over the bed with her skirts raised like a common tart. It was a disgrace…yet she immediately saw why he'd placed her in such a way.

The lords had expected a show. They had expected two naked bodies entwined for their carnal delight. Considering how much authority the king exercised over them she wasn't surprised they wanted to taste a little humiliation on his part.

And Saitou had thwarted them very well.

By having her clothed with only her skirts lifted he'd robbed them of their show. The only thing they would see was the penetration…and the back of her legs. He had effectively ruined any sort of sick pleasure they could get from it by making it as efficient as possible.

'I wish I had legs like that,' she mused to herself, steeling herself for the inevitable.

The king wasted no time pulling her hips against him and ramming himself into her. Megumi winced at the slight brutality and saw the lords around her were equally affected. If they had thought to catch their king in a moment of vulnerability they were dead wrong. He wasn't going to lose himself to passion or any other emotion. This was cold, efficient and emotionless.

Megumi fought the bile that threatened to rise in her throat, leaving a raw, burning feeling in her chest. She couldn't look away…this was her duty…

'Never,' she thought venomously as a tear fell down her cheek. 'Never will I submit myself to this.'

As efficiently as he had started, the king finished. Taking a deep breath Megumi tried to compose herself. The glare upon the king's face was enough to cause several men to back up a few steps as he pulled down his wife's skirts down.

"Your examination, duchess," he snarled and Megumi wished she could have been somewhere else….anywhere else….than at the receiving end of his wrath.

"This is my country's law, not yours," she said firmly. "You lords may leave."

"But-" one protested only to have her turn a cold glare upon them.

"Out."

Had the situation been any different Saitou might have chuckled at the way his nobles cowered before the Duchess. She had been the only one to withstand his anger. Saitou did not like the humiliation involved…especially when it concerned Tokio.

"They're gone, cousin," Megumi said softly. "I need you to lay back on the bed and try to relax."

Much to her surprise the new Queen merely rolled over and pulled herself up onto the bed, her face void of emotion. This was not the Tokio she knew….this was the Princess in court with a dead calm face.

She had reverted to her royal training. It was the face she expected to see in a court, not on a royal bedspread.

But then again, this wasn't a situation either of them wanted to show weakness in. Megumi just wished her cousin had more trust in her than to leave her closed off.

'I haven't done anything to earn that trust, have I?' she said to herself as she washed her hands in the warm water provided.

"Shall I leave?" Saitou asked, his voice cold and detached. Megumi turned to answer…until she realized he wasn't speaking to her. Tokio merely shook her head. A sharp pain of guilt hit Megumi like a ton of bricks.

Tokio trusted her husband more than her own blood. Whatever King Saitou had done to win her loyalty, he had it without question.

"My uncle is a fool," she muttered and approached the bed. Both of them heard her and she didn't pretend she hadn't said it. "King or no king, I'm going to slap him when I get home."

The side of Tokio's mouth quirked ever so slightly, but other than that she did not comment.

"Please pull your knees up and relax. I'll try to make this as quick as possible."

"What exactly are you looking for?" Saitou asked from behind her, causing her to stiffen.

"Forced entry," she replied through thin pressed lips. Tokio's eyes widened ever so slightly and immediately looked upward as her cousin's fingers slipped into her. It wasn't a feeling she had EVER wanted, but clenching muscles around the fingers just made things worse. She fought to keep her breath steady, not focus on it and detaching herself from feeling. True to her word, Megumi finished as quickly as possible.

King Saitou suddenly wanted very much to visit Kyoto and punch the daylights out of his new father-in-law for putting both women in such a position. Examined by her own cousin! It was beyond cruel and twisted. He understood King Hiko's anger, but did he really have to resort to such measures?

Manipulative bastard.

"No problems," Megumi said, her voice strained. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go bleach my hands, be extremely sick and get roaring drunk."

Saitou had never seen a woman run so fast out of a room before. Letting the tension roll off of him he turned back to the bed to look at his bride.

"I want out of this room," she said quietly. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes unfocused as she curled herself into a ball. He didn't respond, but immediately the surroundings changed to their own familiar chambers and the dress around her changed to a comfortable nightgown.

There he stood, torn over comforting her…which was not in his character…and leaving her to recover by herself. He didn't have to decide, however. She made the choice for him.

"Please…just leave," she whispered. Tears refused to fall and she was holding onto her emotions too tightly. She would not show the weakness before him, he realized with a touch of irony. She had shared the humiliation, but she would not be weak. He had to admire that…although at the moment it was doing more harm than good.

"Have Saori get me," he said quietly, his voice barely audible. "I'll be in the library."

And then he left. The moment the door closed all her defenses came down and she curled herself into a tight ball.

And cried.

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Ok, so the article on Marie Antoinette. Basically, the parts they didn't mention in history class….cause, you know, they try to act as if sex wasn't a part of history or something, even though most of histories most prominent figures often had rather interesting and kinky sex lives.

You'd be amazed how many men had fetishes for their mothers…..weird.

Anyway, so Marie Antoinette's husband, Louis XVI had a little problem…besides being kind of unattractive and a dork. He had a type of problem that made it difficult and painful for him to ejaculate properly. Now like most royals…especially ones stuck together in an arranged marriage, their marriage consummation had to be witnessed. Yep, a bunch of people watching the future king and his wife have sex. Man I would have been very happy to NOT be one of the lucky lords.

Well because of his problem the consummation was less than successful…but of course in typical male fashion back then (not insult the guys, just pointing out the tendencies back then) the blame was laid upon Marie Antoinette. She wasn't particularly bright and coming from Austria, she didn't know that much French so she probably couldn't have argued even if she wanted to.

This meant they had to keep trying and trying and trying for years. It wasn't until many years later that the problem was identified and the king underwent a simple procedure to fix it. By then, however, the animosity between them was too deep….not that they were really affectionate to begin with.

Now I was horrified when I read this article. Considering it was from a historical magazine I assume it was legitimate. Unfortunately I didn't write down the source so I can tell you where I got it from (I know….poor researcher aren't I?). Even if it isn't true, which I suspect it is based on mentions I've heard from other books about her, it's still a horrific thought.

I wouldn't trade places with her for the world!


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